Just wanted to rant about the cost of mastectomy bra’s.
I always buy mine from Womanzone as i am able to travel there and be fitted.
Just got their catalogue and the bra’s i can get are £30plus. I am an unusual size being 38A.
Why are they so expensive? They after all are ‘ordinary’ lace bra’s with a linen pocket for the prosthesis.
Again explotation of unfortunate women who have this ‘crap’ disease and been unfortunate enough to have part of their body removed.
Rx
It’s the fact that so many of them look like they were made for shot putters that gets me! Do the designers think that we have our dress sense removed at the same time as the boob? After the op I was given a huge bra(chin to midriff) which had hard cups (made from policemens helmets I reckon) and as an afterthought it was smothered in “ivory lace” so they could say it was “feminine”. As feminine as the Bounty kitchen roll ladies on TV! Absolutely hideous, and £45!
Love
Jane x
Hi Jane
Love your comments about bras. My poor husband knows more about bras now than he ever needs to even after 40+ years of marriage. I had WLE and SNB but find it uncomfortable to get anything that doesn’t dig in to one bit or another on my boob. I’m wearing maternity bras just now from M and S but they are hardly earth shattering but a bit cheaper than someothers. I’m going to try and get something a bit more feminine from a shop near here that I found out about through the forum. It’s called Betty and Bellas in Altrincham. I’ll let you know if they are any good as they are on the internet.
Cheers
Margaret
Hi girls,
I just wanted to say that I am a ‘bra’ fanatic, and before BC I loved to have bras of each and every colour, pattern and shape. Post mastectomy, I was horrified when the prosthesis fitter threw my bras to one side, and told me they will have to go, and THIS is what you will be wearing. It was a gross, ugly, fawn boulder holder. So, I lost my hair, my breast, and now my complete femininity. 2 years on, I am happy to say that M&S post surgical bras are pretty, if limited (about 5 or 6 choices), but cheap, with VAT off, about £12 to £14. They also change range very quickly, so if you don’t like what they’ve got now, look the following month. At the moment I have a lovely t-shirt type bra in black with red hearts, and a beautiful cream lace one, + matching undies!! I know so many ladies like me, who cannot afford the expensive ‘speciality’ shops, but I am 38b, and found these ones very comfortable, and feel good in them. I had quite a bit of correspondence with M&S due to cashiers not being very good at getting the VAT free bit, but what transpired from the correspondence is that they now do matching knickers, something they didn’t do before. I queried the fact that ‘normal’ women could buy 600 different sets of undies, but we had a choice of 5 bras with no matching pants!!
Hope this helps, we have to go without enough as it is!
Best wishes,
Jax
Thanks for that M&S recommendation Jax.
I have just ordered 3 on their 3-for-2 online offer - 3 bras for just over £30 including delivery!! When online, it takes off the VAT automatically.
I am shuffling between two Royce bras at the moment, so definitely need more!
Flora xx
Thanks for comments very helpful. However i do like to be fitted only because i am as i said an unusual size probably due to weight gain with all this ‘crap’.
I wrote to M&S a few years ago as the Liverpool store dont do the mastectomy bra’s I would have to travel to Chester, got no where with my complaint. May write again and ask BC nurse if she would take it up on my behalf.
I will look on the website though and maybe try and buy one and see how it goes.
Rxx