Thank you so much marg1! You’ve done amazingly well! I was wondering when to buy a post surgical bra and can see the value in doing it early. It makes things more real and I can practice wearing it (eugh). Thanks for your advice! I’ve also started shoulder exercises early because I’ve had a frozen shoulder twice on the mastectomy side and it’s a bit stiff.
Keep running and if you’ve got any spare energy please send it my way!! All the best.
I had mastectomy last July and was given a prosthesis to wear. I bought post surgery bras from M&S but find them uncomfortable. So I finally found some bralettes in Primark which are cheap and they have a little pocket at the side where I can pop the prosthesis in. They are not made for them but are very comfortable.
Had unilateral mastectomy a year and half ago without reconstruction. Perhaps different for me because I was very small chested so it didn’t make too much of a difference. I wear mostly a sports bra now and just pay attention to what I wear and how it lays. Sometimes I look for tops that have a ruffle or some sort of embelishment that distracts the eye. I find that most people aren’t really pay attention to my chest (at 58 yrs old) so they don’t notice I’m a wee bit lopsided even if I notice it myself. I’m very happy with being completely flat on one side.
That’s good to hear! Thanks for the reassurance x
I feel so grief stricken when I see beautiful lingerie - I had a smx in August. X
I had a double mammoplasty and survived.
I was a DD, and thank goodness for all that, i had because without it i wouldnt have the 2 that ive got.
I took it day by day and am 2 years out into 5 years of treatment.
Youve got this❤️
I wanted to say thanks so much for this tip! I went to Primark at the weekend and now have 3 super comfy bralettes and a couple of sports bras with pockets for about the price of one of the surgical ones! Now for some good weather so I can get back on my bike.
I’m so glad 
Hi Lollipop1 - I am a new “uniboober” having had my mastectomy just over 2 wks ago. I love nice underwear and packing away my vast collection of bras and matching sets was difficult knowing I’ll never fit in them in the same way again but couldn’t quite bring myself to get rid of them either. I really didn’t know how I’d be with only one boob as reconstruction at the time of op wasn’t an option as I need further treatment but in my mind I was going to do it as soon as possible so I would feel whole again.
However, looking down and seeing myself for the 1st time after surgery didn’t bring the rush of sad emotion I was genuinely expecting. In fact, it was just a feeling of relief that the thing that would kill me, was now gone.
Like others, I bought a couple of bras before the surgery to get used to them which was definitely a good idea. At the moment I’m using a softie prosthesis and highly recommend the brilliant charity Knitted Knockers who will provide you with a hand knitted insert that personally I have found to be amazing. Whilst I’ve got a seroma it’s light and comfortable and gives me a lovely shape to help me feel confident whilst I adjust to the new me.
I will still look into reconstruction in the future but I am not in any rush and realise my boobs don’t define me and getting through my treatment is the priority now. It’s amazing that there are so many options out there to help me adjust and look normal until I decide what I want to do. Everyone is different and I certainly didn’t appreciate how my priorities would change until after I had my mastectomy and have come to accept my current body.
Good luck with your surgery!
Hi mrss1
It’s great to hear that you are doing so well! You’re amazing 
I’ve shifted slightly and I’m now booked in for a Goldilocks procedure next month. I will have a small mound made from my residual breast fat and skin, after other breast tissue (ducts and glands) is removed. It’s half way between going flat and having a mammoplasty (hence its Goldilocks name). It works better for me psychologically. This option was only put to me this week (!!!). I think because the team (and I) knew that I don’t need a mastectomy from an oncological perspective and that I opted for it originally because I didn’t want to deal with implant replacement in my 70s and wanted to keep radiotherapy as an option if needed in the future.
It’s good to hear that you have reconstruction options in the future. I think longer term options are an important part in making immediate decisions and can make so much difference in how we each perceive our body after surgery.
All the very best to you!!
Hello Lollipop1
After many years of recurrent breast cancer (it all started in 1999) when I was diagnosed with Invasive Lobular Breast Cancer last October, I had no option but to have a mastectomy as I had had so many wide local excisions and there wasn’t any viable tissue left. I was really worried about having a mastectomy and when I went for surgery on 19th January, the anaesthetics team put me at ease, in fact we had a few giggles!
When I first started my cancer journey, reconstruction methods were brutal, so I decided to leave well alone. This time, I really don’t want any more surgery and feel that I don’t want an implant, a foreign body, and I’ve had enough of foreign bodies invading me!
After all these years, I now have the opportunity to level up on both sides with the help of a good post surgery bra and a soft prosthetic, possibly a knitted knocker.
At the age of 77, I feel a bit like a youngster experiencing her new body image after adolescence!
Sending love and good wishes for your future journey. xx
Hi heavenscentrose
I have a little pop up saying it’s your first time on the forum, so, it’s a warm welcome from me and us! I’m sorry we’re all here but it’s the place to be for supportive chats.
I’m totally with you regarding not wanting any more foreign bodies in your body! Enough is enough! It sounds as if you have been through a lot. What an inspirational and strong lady you are! A lovely knitted knocker might just do the trick for you! It sounds very cosy in this current cold weather. Brrrr
Your description of feeling like an adolescent again made me smile. It’s a lovely way of looking at it. Thank you for your inspirational words!
I hope all goes well for you.
Hello Lollipop1
Thank you for your welcoming reply.
I must admit that this latest section of my breast cancer journey is proving the most difficult as lobular is so sneaky and until I receive the results from the pathology tests on the tissue removed during surgery, I won’t know what I may be facing. I hope to get those results in early February, but the wait is making me very jittery. I’m trying not to stress too much, but it is difficult. However, since my post surgery brain fog has more or less dissipated, I’m entertaining myself by reading silly books I’ve downloaded from Amazon. Such a daft distraction! I’m trying to stop doing more internet research and am listing my fears and questions for when I see my oncologist and surgeon in February as I trust them to give me honest answers which reflect my particular situation. I must admit that I’m finding it difficult to get my head round invasive lobular breast cancer because, although similar to invasive ductal breast cancer, it does have many differences. Thank goodness I have a wonderful breast care team with a marvellous breast care nurse.
With love and best wishes. xx
Hi lollipop1. I think you said further down that you have switched to a Goldilocks procedure, and I’m delighted that you have found something that really suits you, but I just had to say that I thought your comment “I aspire to be a socially rebellious uniboober” was so great that I might just need to borrow it for myself!
Fabulous izzy4! onwards……..!! And welcome to the BCN forum! The place where we’d all rather not have to be, but also a place that reassures us that we are not alone!
Hello heavenscentrose
I’m so sorry to hear that it’s a particularly worrying time for you. I really do hope that everything goes well!!
I like your idea of light-hearted books from Amazon as a way of filling the time during the interminable waits. I’ll have to have a look! I have found that watching Downton Abbey on Netflix is very calming. After a few episodes back-to-back I feel like I’ve moved in and enjoy getting to know the characters. Nothing much happens but that’s the point. Another daft distraction! (Note that a breast lump makes an appearance but it’s only briefly in a couple of episodes and I fast forwarded over those bits….its a cyst).
Do you enjoy nature? I’ve found a very good app called Merlin which is simple to use and identifies birdsong. Yesterday evening it identified an owl in my suburban street. I can now identify when there’s a robin in my garden, from its song, and can tell the difference between the calls of a moorhen and a coot. It’s great! And helps with being present and mindful rather than worrying about other things.
Also, explore.org has a lot of live webcams covering wildlife etc. I particularly enjoy the Panama bird feeder and hummingbird feeder and various live footage of African wildlife. You might find it a good way to pass the time.
I hope you don’t mind me sharing these suggestions. Fingers crossed they can help.
Hi all, I’m new to the forum and been focusing on chemo which starts for me on Friday. But I saw this thread and thought I’d hop on. I had a single mx in November, had no hesitation in refusing reconstruction and haven’t even used the “softie” they sent me home with. Not bothered about a prosthesis either. I’m on the small side anyway but I just can’t be doing with the faff of inserts and what it all looks like. To anyone who gives my chest a funny look I’d say I’ve got cancer - get over it!! I use M&S crop tops, some have an insert for padding, some don’t (the latter are more comfy for me). No bras. I do a lot of sport so line in sports bras and gear generally, not bothered about dressing up but even when I did at Xmas I just wore loose dresses and tops. I’m proud that my body is fighting cancer and if that means it looks unconventional so be it. It’s the rest of the world’s problem, not mine! I hope other women can be confident in themselves and their amazing bodies that are fighting this evil disease, and not worry about what they look like, and even less what other people think 
Dear lollipop1
My worst decision was not opting for a double mastectomy when I was first diagnosed. At the time, I chose to have only the affected breast removed and decided on TRAM flap reconstruction. For anyone unfamiliar, a TRAM flap uses your own tissue—skin, fat, and muscle—from the lower abdomen to reconstruct the breast. It’s major surgery, and while it’s the right choice for some, it wasn’t the right path for me in the long run.
Five years later, I was diagnosed with cancer again—this time in my other breast. That experience changed everything for me. I chose not to pursue any reconstruction at all, and instead learned to truly love myself as I am—what I lovingly call my “uniboob.”
Honestly? It was the best decision I’ve ever made. I don’t wear prostheses. I don’t wear bras. And for the first time in a long time, I feel free—comfortable in my body and at peace with myself.
Good luck and many blessings on your journey. 
My worst decision was not opting for a double mastectomy when I was first diagnosed. At the time, I chose to have only the affected breast removed and decided on TRAM flap reconstruction. For anyone unfamiliar, a TRAM flap uses your own tissue—skin, fat, and muscle—from the lower abdomen to reconstruct the breast. It’s major surgery, and while it’s the right choice for some, it wasn’t the right path for me in the long run.
Five years later, I was diagnosed with cancer again—this time in my other breast. That experience changed everything for me. I chose not to pursue any reconstruction at all, and instead learned to truly love myself as I am—what I lovingly call my “uniboob.”
Honestly? It was the best decision I’ve ever made. I don’t wear prostheses. I don’t wear bras. And for the first time in a long time, I feel free—comfortable in my body and at peace with myself.
Good luck and many blessings on your journey.
Thank you and all the very best to you too!