Life with a foob?!

Hi twicearoundtheblock- I think that foob is for "fake boob", meaning breast form. But then for a long time I thought "PFC" stood for "post fu**ing chemo". Only recently did I find out it really is for "post final chemo"! So I'm not sure you can trust me;-)

Hello! Hello, I am so sorry that I missed your post till now.

I have bought some swimwear too, but unfortunately all resort stuff that I would never get wet LOL Maybe for  a cruise!

I am on the hunt for some good Mx suits to get into water aerobics again.

I'm in Mo too. Near Springfield.

I love this discussion. It's nice to know I'm not the only one dealing with this the way I do.

Here's my story: I had a single mastectomy two years ago and have not yet "gotten around to" getting a prosthetic.

I kind of want one, just in case I ever want to wear it, but I think I'd feel as self-conscious wearing it as I feel without it, as everyone in my life already knows there isn't a boob there anymore. (Though I rarely catch anyone noticing let alone staring).

I definitely would not wear a fake boob while exercising, and even though I'm self-conscious in the summer, I love the heat and hate to cover up, so who knows if I'd ever use it at all.

As for kids, my five-year-old nephew saw me a few days after surgery and patted my chest and tried to peer down inside the bandages. Since he wanted to see, I peeled it back so he could see the scar, which was still relatively fresh. He wasn't upset by it at all. His parents had explained to him that I had cancer that was "luckily" in a part of the body that could be removed, and he was comfortable with that, and even speculated about how maybe having bigger boobs was a good thing because it would take the cancer longer to grow out of the area. 

Sometimes I'm sad about how my body is changed, and sometimes I feel strangely proud of my scar, in the same way a child is proud of a bandaid as evidence of their triumph over adversity.

PS I share my story on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/user/amykstudio

AmyK - Have you heard about the Flat & Fabulous closed group on Facebook?  I have only seen a teensy piece about you but thought perhaps you might be interested. If you are on FB, you could search Flat & Fabulous just like a person, click on it and then click on the Join Group button. There are a fair number of members like myself who are from BCO.  It is for women who have had mastectomy (Uni or Bi), had recon and have for whatever reason had to deconstruct, or simply considering all of their options.  Many of us live flat but it is truly for all of us whether they wear foobs, sometimes, all the time or never.  We have alot of fun, are finding there are far more of us, especially the flat all the time, than we ever would have imagined.  We also share our trials, tribulations and triumphs of dressing our new landscapes.

You or anyone seeing this, we are actively searching for our flat sisters to join us.  It is sooo much easier to share our fashion choice photos on FB.  Here requires a 3rd party photo hosting site.  You will see tons more photos with our group as our posts and photos do not post to our Timeline.  As with anything on social media, it is advisable to adhere to something like a 6 o'clock news rule, such as how embarassed would I be if it appeared on the news.  It is a closed group but for instance, if your FB friend looked up the group, they would see you were a member, though they would not be able to see the posts or photos.

I have mostly lived flat but did wear forms for awhile. I did find I was far more self-conscious going from flat to forms than going from forms to flat.  I guess Flat & Fabulous just seems like the real and authentic me.  I too am proud of my scars and what we have been through together.

Barbara

Hi Juli,

Nice to see another uniboober here! There aren't too many of us.

I couldn't wait to get all the "accoutrements" LOL, but that's just me, any excuse to shop.  I was at the lingerie shop a week after surgery asking for a fitting for a foob, but they sent me away and told me I had to wait for 6 weeks.

I was pretty creative with "puffy softees", and even wore a shirt with tissues in the breast pocket. I too, toss the foobs when I get home, and go half flat in the house. My family and friends have no problem with it at all. I have always worn pareos around the house. Now I just twist the material and tie it in a halter neck.

I do kind of have trouble, with going half flat when I am out, because it is such a weird look, a bit quasimoto to the front, sorry if that offends anyone. I would have a much easier time if I had a totally flat chest, but it is a bit hard to hide a "D" cup on one side that is used to being supported in a bra. I have never had any issue wearing a bra. I have always been able to find bras that were really comfortable. Even now, I have found some fantastic bras that I can wear all day without feeling uncomfortable.

In saying all this, I too look for others like me. It is a sisterhood thing, I guess.

I have been lucky because I have a group of ladies in the town where I live who have started a monthly get together group, so I meet up with them regularily. There are only two who have reconstructed, the rest are uni, or double Mx. All but one of them, wear prosthesis when they are out.

Take care everyone!

Thanks FLwarrior, I fixed the link, but here it is again: http://www.youtube.com/user/amykstudio

It is actually a link to my youtube channel, so what you will see is my most recent video and links to the rest. I kept a video diary starting during chemo and on through radiation and triathlons during and after and on into this new version of "normal" life.