Prosthesis

Jdtou812

Does anyone have opinions about off the shelf prosthesis vs custom?



Thank you!

cinnamonsmiles

I had to get the lightest weight prosthesis due to pain issues in the chest, armpits, and arms, back. I rarely wear them and I got them back in maybe 2012 sometime? Maybe late 2011, not sure. I tried on some others. Once I put them in the bra, it really made no difference to me if it was custom, or from the Mastectomy Boutique. There are so many different kinds out there to choose from, so it is not like there are only one or two to choose from. They are expensive. I couldn't see spending the money for custom ones. But I am sure there are some out there that prefer that. Personal preference, that's all.

I would suggest you find a nice Mastectomy Boutique and try different types on.

Good luck with the search1

bluepearl

I bought, from Walmart's, a large size breast ehancer (silicone) that was $24.00 (Canada) and was a "B" cup size as I fitted into different bras in the store. I tried on a bra with them and it was fantastic...light weight and didn't hurt me. I also bought a mastectomy bra from ebay and these enhancers popped in perfectly. So pleased and saved hundred's of dollars. (they are also tear shaped, not triangular or round..they look exactly like those expensive ones without the nipple, which I don't want anyway...that's why they make those smooth bras now)

Jdtou812

Thanks for your reply. Vesrt helpful. Do you know anyone who has tried the customs? Or how much you would be willing to pay for them?

Jdtou812

Thanks for your reply. Vesrt helpful. Do you know anyone who has tried the customs? Or how much you would be willing to pay for them?

Erica3681

There are currently only a few companies that create custom prostheses. The advantage is that they can make an exact match of your existing breast, if you've only had a unilateral mastectomy. Another advantage used to be that custom forms were generally lighter than the non-custom silicone forms, but nowadays there are lots of lightweight silicone forms, so there's not much difference there. Also, there are so many non-custom shapes and sizes available that a good fitter can help you obtain an excellent match without going the custom route. Further, Trulife bought the Radiant Impressions custom form company and now has created a non-custom form using the same technology. It's called Impressions. I understand that they've just come out with a new Impressions version, called Impressions II, which is even better. (Impressions II still isn't available at most stores or online sites, but I called the company and they said they're in the process of rolling the product out.) 

So, for most women, there's not much reason to go the custom route. The one exception to that might be if your chest is extremely uneven, lumpy, or very concave, making it hard to get a good fit with a non-custom form. Then the custom form's ability to conform perfectly to your chest might be helpful. Even in the case of women with lumpy, uneven chests, though, there are non-custom forms that have special moldable backs to fill in and fit comfortably.

I seriously considered custom forms at one point after my bilateral mastectomy but became convinced that they wouldn't solve the one issue that's been a problem for me, perspiration behind the breast form (prosthesis), so I decided it wasn't worth the money (I have insurance but honestly felt it would be unfair to ask them to pay thousands of dollars for something that would be only marginally better, if at all).

FYI, the only companies I know of, other than Radiant Impressions, that make custom prostheses, are ContourMed and New Attitude. If you know of any other companies doing this, I'd be very interested to hear about them.

crystalphm

I thought Erica's answer was right on the mark. I too looked into custom and luckily for a few reasons I did not spend the money on them. 1. I ended up losing my second breast also and 2. I think honestly we are searching for something to make us *normal* again, and such a product is not available. We just need lots of time to heal, emotionally as well as physically.

I have a drawer filled with products that will never feel right for me...and then again, sometimes the strangest product seems to work just fine. Like the Handful bra...I swear it would have looked wrong and felt wrong, but I took the chance and it is working for me. But I will say nothing would have made me happy the first year after surgery, I needed emotional healing.

Moderators

There's another busy thread in this forum, All things bras & prosthesis, that includes many members' experiences and preferences.

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