Mastectomy Apparel

Hi Everyone!

 I had a double mastectomy a year & a half ago. And opted not to have the reconstruction. Has anyone had a problem, with the bras riding up, and settling on the incision?

 I have an open wound ( Yes, after 1 1/2 years) But anyway, that's a story in it's self. 

 I am looking for a way, or a garment, that won't ride up on the incision.

 I have tried the cammy's and that is ok.. But for something more formal, does anyone have any ideas? I have the sylicone(?) forms, and the softies as well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

 Deb

Hi Deb,

Your problem is VERY common.

Contact Reach for Recovery - see if they can give you suggestions. You might even be able to arrange a meeting with a counselor who can show you examples of other types of apparel that are available.

http://www.reach4recovery.org.za/r4r/

Sincerely,

Tre

Hey Deb,

I had an afterthought:

Some women solve this problem by wearing a corset bra. THere are a number of different vaireties, from ones that just cover the ribs to ones that actually are long enough to also act as a girdle. They come in both push up style (strapless) and with spaghetti straps. 

As for "stuffing" - shoulder pads from female garments work wonders!  They are just about the right shape, they are soft, and they usually have velcro patches on them.  You can just velcro them to each other, and velcro them to the bra!  I think you can even buy extra shoulder pads at fabric shops.

I did a web search and was able to find lots of pictures of corset bras, and sellers online.  I know some of the lingerie stores still sell them - I'm not sure if you can find them at places like JC Penneys or Kaufmans, etc.

Good luck!

Tre

On 11/14/2008 Breeze wrote:

Hi Everyone!

 I had a double mastectomy a year & a half ago. And opted not to have the reconstruction. Has anyone had a problem, with the bras riding up, and settling on the incision?

 I have an open wound ( Yes, after 1 1/2 years) But anyway, that's a story in it's self. 

 I am looking for a way, or a garment, that won't ride up on the incision.

 I have tried the cammy's and that is ok.. But for something more formal, does anyone have any ideas? I have the sylicone(?) forms, and the softies as well. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,

 Deb

Been there - I put extra elastic on the bras either a piece that attaches to your pants - like a garter belt - I also sewed a piece accross the back between the straps - I was always afraid my bra would fall down not up from the weight  of the forms .  After 9 years I finally realized how hard it was and had the reconstruction. .

Other thing I did was wear bathing suit tops - lands end made a two piece tankini - the top is long and you can tuck it in and it has pockets for the forms.