Hi I am posting this on behalf of new user Fiona Best wishes Lucy
Hi. My mum was diagnosed with breast cancer late last year and has had a mastectomy and currently going through chemo. She finds it very had to talk about it and is finding it very hard to find somewhere to get some good, pretty mastectomy bras from. We have tried M&S but I was wondering if anyone can help us with any shops in GLASGOW which sell them.
Hey Fiona. I hope your Mum has found some new bras before now. I had a double mastectomy on May 7th and like your Mum headed to M&S in Glasgow after having been told the Argyle Street branch was the best for mastectomy bras. Boy was I disappointed! They had 3 or 4 styles, but only 1 in my size and the holes in the pockets were too small and the prosthesis didn't fit.
I managed to get 2 bras in Frasers though.
I understand that both Debenhams and John Lewis do mastectomy bras and John Lewis will sew pockets into an ordinary bra if you buy it from them.
The specialist mastectomy bras shops on-line or by mail order are the ones I've used and would recommend as they specially design the bras so that they suitable for a prosthesis and are cut so that they are supportive and have a sufficient pocket size and can be higher or lower cut at the front or the side depending on the need. M and S just tries to adapt exisiting bras into mastectomy bras and the concept is completely different and their training is incomplete in my experience and they really don't have the level of understanding or experience to help newly operated women. I am lucky as I live near to NicolaJane and Amoena so have beeen able to visit their shops and be completely meausred and fitted by the especially trained women there. Some of their assistants have also had mastectomies so they understand completely the problems we face. You can phone the helpline and they can give you info specific to that bra etc and the sale on return policy is good too. The delivery dates have been speedy. They are slightly more expensive but well worth it for me as I have some lymphoedema in my chest wall which can cause me problems ansd they are helpful in suggesting certain bras rather than others. They also do vest tops with spahetthi straps which have hidden pocketing for the prozzy but they are often in short supply this time of year!! I also use the bras with lace across - camisole type which are useful for low tops. I have also used Elouise who are helpful. John lewis have a limited choice as well as asda. Again, swimsuits - i use specialist mastectomy shops as i have high rads scarring. Goog Luck Kate I only feel safe in pocketed bras and nobody could tell which is which.
HI IM HAVING TROUBLE FINDING A NICE MASECTOMY BRA I HAVE A FEW WITH POCKETS BUT THEY ARE NOT VERY GOOD JUST BOUGHT A TRUIMPH BRA WITHOUT POCKETS BUT DUE TO SORE SKIN FROM RADIOTHERAPY ITS TO UNCOMFORTABLE TO WEAR AT THE MOMENT SANDRA
It's 18 years since I had radiotherapy so I can't really remember what I did personally but I have read threads on this site that recommend using a vest top or camisole instead of a bra until the soreness eases.
If you post under the radiotherapy section, I am sure that you will get helpful advice from people who have a similar problem.
HI WENDY THANKS FOR YOUR REPLY THIS IS ALL NEW TO ME ITS NICE TO TALK TO OTHERS THAT HAVE BEEN THROUGH THE SAME THING I HAVE GREAT FAMILY AND FRIENDS BUY I FEEL ALONE AT TIMES MY CHILDREN ARE 17,22,25.27.AND I TRY TO KEEP STRONG AND HAPPY FOR THEM IVE HAD TWO OPS THEN EIGHT CYCLES OF CHEMO,THEN A MASECTOMY AND RADIOTHERAPY MY NEXT STEP IS HERCEPTIN IT JUST SEEMS NEVER ENDING THANKS SANDRA
Hi Sandra, Like Wendy, I didn't wear a bra for some time after rads, as the area was sore and swollen. . I am only 34A so even now, 6 months after rads, I don't always bother wearing a bra if I am just around the house. Also being small, I tend not to wear a mastectomy bra unless I am going walking or doing P.E. with the children at school. Most of the time I wear a normal bra with the comfie / softie in, I dont like the prosthesis as I find it too heavy. Its a long haul through all the treatment isn't it? but you seem to be doing well, especially if you look back and see how far you have come - well done! Magsi x
HI MAGS THANKS FOR YOUR REPLY I TO WEAR THE COMFIE AND ITS OK HAVE YOU GIVEN ANY THOUGHT TO RECONSTRUCTION IM STILL UNDECIDED WANT IT DONE BUT DONT FANCY MORE SURGERY BUT IVE GOT PLENTY OF TIME TO THINK ABOUT IT SANDRA x
Hi Sandra, Reconstruction - was offered it at the time but I would have had to have waited a few more weeks (until after Christmas) and the thought of a scar across my tummy and a longer recovery put me off. I then went through a few weeks of wondering if I had done the right thing or not. I notive from the bcc site there are days when information sessions are held about reconstruction and there is one coming up in London, where I live, in October which I will probaly try to go along to. With most decisions I like to have time to think and have a look the options rather than be rushed into something which I might later regret. I have got used to the way I look. I can still wear everything I wore before. Its only noticable that I have one breast if I am getting changed or showering in a public area to go swimming and that doesn't bother me. My husband has got used to the way I look and also my two sons (19 and 21) as I still go braless sometimes around the house when I am wearing a jumper. What about you? Are you thinking about it? There are quite a few threads around about reconstructions and info about the various types. Most I have read are very positive. Magsi x
hi mags i dont like the way i look at all my scar is really ugly not sure if its due to the three ops,hubby and family seem to accept the way i am and just want me to be happy,i am thinking about reconstruction but still very unsure. sandra x
Hi Sandra Its so difficult isn't it getting used to how our bodies look. I ended up with two ops, just 10 days apart and when I first saw the mastectomy scar I thought it was o.k. Then I went through a couple of days when I looked in the mirror and thought 'What a freak' It sounds awfull now when I write it down, but thats what I thought at the time. I used to put cream on the area by putting my hand inside my dressing gown so I couldn't see it which usually meant that I got more cream on the dressing gown than on the skin. I think as with most of the bc stuff it takes time doesn't it?, and it seems to me that its often more to do with our thoughts and feelings than our bodies. It seems so simple just removing a breast, its not a difficult procedure but its all the mental adjustments afterwards. I've just listened to the July podcast on this site on body image which I found quite useful, its about 30 minutes. I've posted the link, see what you think.
hi magsi im glad its not just me i had my last op 6may and i havent yet touched my scar i apply cream using cotton wool.i seem to have been through so much in the last year and not all of it has sunk in one minute i was a healthy 44yr old and then it just seemed as if my world was turned upside down,at times i cant be the only woman to feel this way,my family have been great but its so hard to talk to them they dont understand how can they when i dont. i will listen to the link you sent me x thankyou sandra
thanks magsi yes feel better just chatting,in 45 have two daughters two sons one daughter in law and three wonderfull grandaughters aug 14 last year is when my roller coster started sandra
hi magsi i didnt find a lump its odd but i was on hols last year and noticed my nipple looked as if it had been pushed in so as soon as i got home my doctor sent me for what she called a one stop appointment they done a mamagram and a scan then a needle biopsy,they told me they thought it was cancer and made me an app for the following week,my husband came with me to the app and thats when they said it was cancer and that they would remove the nipple and lymph nodes,when we went back for results they said that the tumour was grade three33mm in size and that two out of three lymph nodes had metastatic deposits with extracapsular spread so i needed a further op for an axillary node clearance and a wider local excison,yet again when we went for results they said that 6 more lymph nodes contained tumour and that made the disease very high risk so i would need a masectomy,but they wanted me to have chemo first i had 4 cycles of fec followed by 4 cycles of taxotere,the chemo was awful and i wondered at times was it worth it i lost my hair and had no energy at all my grandaughters are 5,, 3 and 15months and they are what kept me going,i had chomo from october 2007 until march 2008 and then 6may 08 i had the masectomy the op went well and i felt ok then the radiotherapy started in july 08 for three weeks it was a 40 mile round trip every day and very tiring,my next step is herceptin for a year and im on tamoxefen for the next 5years.your right it is a long haul i still feel at times that its all happened to someone else but on a lighter note im still here and doing ok sandra x
hi magsi hope you have rested after your weekend,i had the port put in on tuesday it didnt take long and its not sore looks like 4 stiches at the most maybe not even that, i enjoyed the eye it was good,but i have picked up a viral infection chest is wheezy and i have a head cold sniff sniff got home today at 4 and i have been in bed ever since i hate it it just brings back memories of chemo surgery ect, my oncolgist asked me last week if i wanted reconstruction and that was a follow up app after rads so it must be ok,i think i will go to the info talk on 2 oct to learn a bit more. sandra x