Mastectomy bra and inserts

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Bumble-bee_34
Bumble-bee_34 Member Posts: 3
edited December 2018 in Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy

Hi, I'm just a teenager and where I live a lot of people around me have been getting breast cancer lately. With it being the highest cancer in my area I wanted to do something. I can't make a shot to not get it but I thought you guys go through a lot, you fight and then are stuck with this problem of not having comfortable bras or heavy inserts. One of my favorite teachers recently started reconstruction and complains how uncomfortable it is to have your bra rise up or the fear of the insert falling out. I joined hosa and decided to do a medical innovation on them. I was wondering if you had any ideas or things you wish you could change about the bra or insert. What have you difficulty so I can work to change it. Thank you for your time.

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  • sherrmue
    sherrmue Member Posts: 25
    edited October 2018

    Hi, Bumble-bee 34,

    Wow! You sound like an incredible young woman.

    I’ve been without breasts for 8 years and have found most mastectomy bras and inserts to be quite uncomfortable. I can’t wait to take them off each day. Even the soft and light sports bras for non mastectomy women are uncomfortable. I’ve been “making do” for a long time as many of us do.

    I’ll take some time to really think about how I would like my mastectomy bras and inserts to feeland function.

    Talk to you soon,

    Sherri


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  • MagentaWarrior
    MagentaWarrior Member Posts: 1
    edited October 2018

    Hi, Bumble-bee34,

    Bless your kind heart for your question. I'm actually a teacher, myself, with wonderful, supportive students. I'm on my second go-round of breast cancer and decided against reconstruction both times. Having recently had a second mastectomy, I've tossed out prostheses (they're heavy and expensive) and again have pretty bras from Coobie. Super comfortable. I thought you might be interested in Knitted Knockers (google it, maybe?), which is a genius idea from Washington State. I made my own "prostheses" by crochet and they're light and comfortable, even only two weeks out of surgery. Maybe you and others might be interested in creating some? I'm far from thrilled about having cancer a second time, but at least my bras and my "knockers" are comfortable and pretty! :)

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  • PollyOne
    PollyOne Member Posts: 21
    edited November 2018

    Thanks for posting about knitted knockers. I love to knit and crochet so am looking forward to putting one together.  You say they're comfortable two weeks out of surgery, but I'm experiencing discomfort with anything touching the edges of my mx. Also riding in a car. Do you have any suggestions for what I could do to minimize that?


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  • ReggieH
    ReggieH Member Posts: 21
    edited November 2018

    Hi BumbleBee34 — You are so thoughtful to think about how to help women you know who have breast cancer! If you’re still wondering about bras, I really like Amoena bras. The company focuses on bras for after breast surgery. You can buy them on Amazon or at the Amoena website. My personal favorite is Frances. It closes in the front with little clasps, is all cotton and has pockets for prostheses if you want to use them. And they’re super comfortable

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  • Kerri_Oz
    Kerri_Oz Member Posts: 91
    edited November 2018

    I haven't had my surgery yet, but I have seen women complaining about bras with prosthetics riding up in an uncomfortable way. I thought it might be cool if someone could design a belt to go around the waist that the bra could be clipped to to keep it in place. Kind of like how a garter belt holds stockings up, but it holds the bra down in the correct position.

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  • Ashweb901
    Ashweb901 Member Posts: 67
    edited November 2018

    I just went for my fitting today, and they have to get preapproval from the insurance company so I’ve been reflecting on both the boutique’s limited selection and googling my other options. I’d say my main complaint is weight. I’m a C, and I was surprised at how much heavier the prosthesis+bra was. I don’t think my breasts were that heavy! Second thing is that silicone is HOT, and women taking cancer treatments get hot flashes, so staying cool is key. Lastly, all the bras except one were very frumpy and matronly. Wide straps. I’m assuming to distribute the weight

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  • Bumble-bee_34
    Bumble-bee_34 Member Posts: 3
    edited December 2018

    Hi there i am grateful for your answer sorry it took so long to reply but I have went over yours along with everyone's comments and taken into consideration everything everyone has said. I am happy to tell you me and my friends have been working on our project now for months and have nearly perfected it we will be shooting our video tomorrow to see if we can be accepted with this innovation into state. The farther we go the more impact we will make on people and that's our main goal. Make people understand this is important and not something to be taken lightly with little options of comfort. We also made a men's mastectomy shirt because guys as well can also get breast cancer. For lighter weight we mad them out of Styrofoam with a flat surface and padding.For our realistic one because others are expensive we created a lighter more realistic silicon like material. Also with the problem of it always pulling up. We created a double layer tank that has a sports bra inside with pockets so you don't have to wear the apron for drainage tubes. The shirt can be tucked in so you no longer have to pull down constantly. And that sports bra is open for inserts with a wider strap for comfort. Thank you for your help and wish us luck on getting through so we can share this with the world. Thank you guys so much love that this website is so nice and friendly and open to helping people.

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  • exercise_guru
    exercise_guru Member Posts: 716
    edited December 2018

    Please please provide support under the arm that seems to be the place that there's a little full to skin from a mastectomy and it's very painful if your arm rubs on it

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  • Robyn57
    Robyn57 Member Posts: 19
    edited December 2018

    anybody have no issues w tissue expanders Did they hurt

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