I’m two years post treatment - mx,chemo and rads. Had recostruction a year ago and want to stop wearing sports bras. Problem is I can’t find any nice colourful bras that are comfortable and not underwired. Any ladies out there having the same problem or can point me in the right direction of where to find them?
Pls let me know.
Thanks
You may find some if you search the Internet. I found very soft stretchy bras (black or white) on the Windsor Products site. I believe M & S stock suitable bras too.
Good luck,
KateG
Hi, Triumph do a non-wired lacy bra that is comfortable and supportive. Comes in black and white as basic and other colours sometimes too. R.
I’m always on the lookout for comfy bras too. I didn’t like underwiring before I had BC, but now the wiring can have a tendency to rub against my WLE scar. When I get a bit achy I end up in sports bras, not the most attractive of garments are they?
Try royce-lingerie.co.uk, or some of the big department stores sell a limited range of their bras. They do a specific post-mastectomy range, plus a comfort range, both of which are soft, no wires, but they tend to only come in black, skin or white.
Sarah x
Try nicolajane.co.uk for reasonably priced, pretty and comfy bras - I had mx back in October and have two bras from this company which are comfortable, un-wired and most importantly, hold everything in place. I am sure they do post surgery bras too, but the mx ones themselves should be supportive and comfortable, with a large enough cup to make you feel ‘in control’ without underwiring.
Sophie x
Thanks for all the info ladies. Have had a look at some of these and must admit I feel quite disappointed by what’s out there. Before the big c, I used to wear the colourful, nice bras most of which were underwired, and I want to get back to wearing bras that look and make me feel good despite the cancer. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I want to get that little bit of me back.
Are any of you ladies less impressed with what’s out the on the market especially the lack of colours, anything apart from black, white or nude? Or is it just me??
Gloria
X
hi I was 22 when had mx in nov 2010 and I hate the bras that are out there. I did find a web site aboutthegirl.co.uk that had quite nice bras but I am a 34a and they dont do that size(been told a is not a popular size!!!). I dont think the firms that do these bras realise how it feels not being able to find nice bras and how many young people have bc, they are obviously not researching ages of bc. Also the prices are are unreal.
michelle x
I had lumpectomy and my BC nurse says that she thinks underwired bras are OK but the other 2 BC nurses disagree with her. Does Anyone else’s BC nurse say that underwired are fine?
My bcn has told me that underwired bras are absolutely fine - in fact, some of the prostheses out there are specifically designed to work well with underwiring. Whether or not you find them comfortable is another thing altogether. A friend of mine had wle, and because of the scarring under her armpit (part caused by surgery, part by rads), she has not been comfortable with underwired bras. Another friend who had mx (and therefore no seperate scar under armpit from node removal) finds underwired bras just as comfortable as before.
I never wore underwired before as was so lopsided prior to mx (!) that they were never comfortable, but am quite tempted to try now, as my prosthesis means I am more even now than I have been at any time during my adult life!
Sophie xx
Ladies can I just say that matalan have a lovely white lacey post surgery bra with a removable lace piece like a false camisole when wearyng low cut tops 6 pound asda have lovely black/cream or red/cream same price both have pockets both sides I wear them even though had wle as sides are deeper for underarm scar my bc nurse says definately no wires after breast surgery x julie
Hi everyone
Thought it might be useful to get some input from the Breast Cancer Care nursing team on this issue. Here is what they have to say about bras:
"You may find Breast Cancer Care’s publication A confident choice –breast prostheses, bras and clothes after surgery useful in helping you to choose a good bra which will be comfortable whether you are wearing prosthesis, or whether you have had a reconstruction. This publication gives you ideas of what to look for in a bra, signposts to other companies at the back of the book who have websites or catalogues to look at, and who also have very helpful people that you can talk to.
"It’s important to be correctly measured for your bra, and you can get this done by your breast care nurse (if you have one), specialist lingerie shops, chains or department stores, where they often have specialist fitters. Under-wired bras are usually fine to wear, as long as your breast fits into the cup and the wire does not cut into any breast tissue. Some women like to wait until their breast tissue has healed well, before wearing an under-wired bra. Various companies make their bras with ‘flexi-wires’ to ensure comfort and support. Most companies make bras which have cup linings or pockets as standard, making them suitable for anyone, whether you’ve had surgery or not. Here’s the link:
breastcancercare.org.uk/upload/pdf/Confidenchoice_ERJ.pdf
Hope that helps
Breast Cancer Care nursing team"
Whilst I’m not really able to wear a ‘proper’ bra for any length of time yet as I’m still tender 3 months down the road from my MX, I have a couple of Royce bras that are super comfortable and look pretty too.
I recently had a wander around my local branch of Camille and the fitter there was nothing short of brilliant and showed me lots of pretty non-wired and mx bras at a far more reasonable price than the Royce ones - camille.co.uk they might be worth a try.
One of things that has really hacked me off about the whole thing generally is how much more expensive mx bras seem to be in comparison with ordinary ones. I know it’s something of a niche market but a lot of them are really pricey.
I have been browsing the internet to see what post-mastectomy bras are available. It amazes me how many are modelled by women with big cleavages who clearly haven’t had breast surgery!
It makes it harder to imagine what they would look like with a prosthesis .
Clematis
HI Clematis,
I thought that too and have started writing to the companies to say how unhelpful it is; when I went to one of the wonderful lingerie evenings by BCC they had 3 models - one with lumpectomy, one with mastectomy prosthesis, one with recon , it was really only the double mx they were missing…I think the bra companies should do the same, lets have a go at them!
best Nicola
I’m glad its not only me Nicola. I might try writing to the companies as well. I am trying to decide whether to go for a reconstruction and this doesn’t help.
Xx
My solution to this problem was very simple for me. With one reconstruction standing proud, and the other 45 year boob going south, albeit slowly, I found soft bras gave a very lopsided appearance. And I missed the nice bras I used to buy. So now I have started buying those bras again, as I would have before surgery. I have no sewing skills, but a small pair of scissors, a couple of snipped stitches, and I remove the underwire from one side and leave it in the other. Voila! Support where needed and comfort on the other side. Looks great and even, and buying bras is fun again.