Prosthesis Advice

I'm like you in that I had a bmx, then rads, and was told I should wait at least 6-9 months after rads before any recon. I was fitted for prostheses after the rads had healed a bit, though. Before that, I wore Coobie bras with the foam inserts (I was small before bmx).

If you have a place to get fitted for bras and prostheses, I highly recommend doing so. I was very fortunate that my insurance covered fittings at a shop that specialized in clothes for mastectomy patients. I would not had ended up with the same result if I'd tried to do it myself and ordered online. The lacy bra I thought would work turned out to be painful on my radiated skin, so I went with the seamless bra. The sizing of the bras and the prostheses turned out to be different from what I expected, too. The fitters were experienced and knew their stuff; they were all former bc patients and I really appreciated their advice.

Good luck with everything! If by any chance you're in or near NYC, I'll pass along the name of the place where I went.

Irish65: The shop is called Underneath It All. I recommend them highly. I went to another place first and really disliked the atmosphere, so I left without placing an order.

It's a short walk from both Penn Station and Grand Central.

Website here: http://underneathitallnyc.com

Thanks rainnyc!

Kali, I bought Coobies off their website; they seemed to have a deal in place most of the time that gave you three bras for the price of two. I got the basic bra; I forget the name, but it's their best-seller. The bras come with a very thin, removable foam insert. So, since I got three bras, I just combined the three inserts--there was plenty of room in the cup--and that became my prosthesis during the time I was healing from rads. It gave the effect of a small A cup. There actually is enough room in the Coobies for my regular prostheses, and I have worn them in it, but I prefer the mastectomy bra that I was fitted for. I think if I was getting Coobies for my everyday bra, I'd probably get the kind with the wider shoulder strap, still, the mastectomy bra feels more secure and doesn't move around. I think because the Coobie bra is lighter, the prostheses drag it down a bit. It was pretty comfortable when I was healing from rads and wanted something light.

Kali44,

I had my mastectomy on June 27. I wanted to have my reconstruction done after therapy has ended. However, when I went to see my rad onc, she told me she won't do anything until I was evaluated by a PS, which shocked me. I had to go to my health insurance plan, ask for the plastic surgeons' names and put me on God;s hands because I don't know any of them. Also my skin hurts a lot and I cannot even tolerate the minimum friction of clothing. When the PS puts the expansor, the onc will then apply the radiation. You are really lucky.