Clothing for Men to swim in following mastectomy

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Clothing for Men to swim in following mastectomy

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Clothing for Men to swim in following mastectomy Dear All

I’m new to this site and hope you can help. My husband has breast cancer. He had a mastectomy in Jan 2005. Since then, he has had chemotherapy and radiotherapy and just when we thought it was going to get better - it’s back! He has two tumours in his neck in the lymph nodes. He is undergoing another course of chemotherapy at the present time. Prior to the cancer he used to swim. He hasn’t done so since the mastectomy as he was too conscious of the scar and the area is still quite red looking following radiotherapy last October. Is there any suitable clothing that you can get to hide the scar ? I think he looks fine without covering up but he is also concerned what the children will think. Have you got any ideas ?

Thanks

Dolores

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for Dolores dont know if this will help much but we have a man comes to our local pool who had been badly burned on his chest area…he wears a vest top to cover his scarring and says its so he doesnt scare any kids or pregnant women.LOL…

Morag

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Swimming Hi Dolores

I too have breast cancer and have had two mastectomies - modified radical and simple. After I had the first operation and after all the other treatment I returned to swimming to ease the pain in my arm and get it back to full mobility.

I didn’t wear anything on top at all and it wasn’t such a big deal for me or anyone else.

Radical mastectomies are a bit more severe looking and I can tell you that a kind plasticsurgeon recreated the illusion of me having nipples agin.

I think that your husband should push for a referral to a plastic surgeon and see if they can help put him back together. For me the illusion of having nipples is just wonderful although I have to often go back for the tattoos to be re-done.

In the meantime I would say your husband would be more looked at because he was wearing a vest rather than not. It’s not usual for a man to wear anything on top when he is swimming. I think more people would look if they did!!

I do hope that his trestment goes well for lumps in his neck.

Best wishes to you both.

Bill

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Being noticed I agree with what Willy says about your husband being noticed more if he is wearing something.
I have been walking topless on the beach in the summers, and no one appears to notice my mastectomy scar.
I started by leaving my shirt undone, then gradually opened it wider and wider, until I was able to take it off, but there was no reaction from people around me.
I hope he gets on ok and recovers from the breast cancer operations

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Body suits Dolores,
I sympathise entirely with the dilema. I had a full mastectomy last July and the thing that most concerned me was how people would view me and perhaps even judge me. I have two daughters 9 and 14 and I have never hidden the scar from them. I was concerned when we went on holiday a couple of weeks ago that I would draw a lot of attention if I were to go swimming, but frankley its not the case. I sat at the pool side and looked around - there were so many other people with scars, accidental and operative, that it really paled my concerns into insignificance. If anyone is that interested they can come and ask - but no one did and I wasn’t conscious of any lengthy stares or whispered conversations.
As for your children, they will accept it, he is after all still their Dad. I’m sure that they will know what has been going on and kids are never as ignorant as you think they are. If you haven’t been, be frank with them and show and discuss how you both feel about it with them - you will be surprised how matter of fact they will be.

If you still want to persue the clothing for swimming, the competitors wear body suits which will be available from a genuine sports outlet, no the plastic JJB, Sport & Ski and the like but the genuine Speedo outlets.

That being said, I agree with my fellow respondants, I think, and this is the reason I didn’t buy one, that it will draw more attention to you. Fair enough the conversation wouldn’t be about the scar and radiotherapy patch, but about the body suit which is more likely to be out of place.

All the best to you and your husband.

Brian

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Clothing Dolores - I can sympathise with your husband - I felt exactly the same after my mastectomy - but now who cares, if people want to look, let them, if they want to know what happened, I tell them - it is another way of letting people know that Men Get Breast Cancer Too.

It does get easier in time - time is a good healer - in the words of the song ’ On the street where you live’

“people stop and stare
they dont bother me”

All the best to you both

David W

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Thanks for the quick response … Thank you all for the quick response! It is really useful to know that someone else is out there experiencing the same things as you. I agree that Shaun would be better just to swim without a vest as it would probably draw less attention that if wearing one, but I suppose you have to accept yourself for what you are before you can move on. At least we know that some people swim without covering the scar.

Thanks again. Looking forward to catching up soon. Dolores

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Surfer dude? I’ve a male friend who had a liver transplant - it left a huge and promonant scar in an inverted T accross his stomache and up his chest. He used to wear surfer gear (especially on the beach) until he built up the confidence just to go bare.

He now doesn’t worry about it and rarely feels as if anyone’s noticed though recenty a small child did ask if that man had had a baby too (I presume the child’s mother had a cesarean).

I hope your husband finds a solution that works for him.