You are standing in yet another department store fitting room. The bra you brought in looks promising on the hanger, but the moment you try to hook it, the band digs into your sides. Or perhaps you made it out of the store, but by two o’clock in the afternoon, the underwire is poking and
Plus-Size Bra Fitting: What to Look for Beyond Standard Sizing Read More »
You open your lingerie drawer, reach for the bra you have worn comfortably for years, and put it on. By noon, the band is digging into your ribs. The cups that used to sit perfectly smooth suddenly gap at the top. The straps feel like they are plotting against your shoulders. You might assume you
How Your Body Changes in Your 40s, 50s, and 60s (And How Your Bra Should Change Too) Read More »
“Do I need the glove too, or just the sleeve?” It is the question women ask most once a sleeve has been recommended, and the answer is usually both. A lymphedema compression sleeve and a hand piece are worn together as a system, and which one you need depends on where the swelling sits. A
Lymphedema Compression Sleeve, Glove, or Gauntlet: What Each One Does and Who Decides Read More »
A breast form that shifts, rides up, or rubs is usually not a defective form. It is usually the bra. First, check the band, the strip of fabric around your ribcage that holds everything in place. It should sit level with the floor and feel snug. If it rides up toward your shoulder blades, or
Breast Form Problems: Why It’s Usually the Bra, Not the Form Read More »
Every silicone breast form is built to match the weight of the breast it replaces. That weight keeps it sitting naturally under clothing and both sides of you balanced. It also hangs off one shoulder all day, which is why lighter forms exist for the hours when silicone is more than you want: August, a
Lightweight Breast Forms: For Hot Days, Easy Days, and Sleep Read More »
The bag you carry through the hospital door should be small. For a one- or two-night stay: a button-front top, loose elastic-waist pants, slip-on shoes, photo ID and insurance card, a long phone charger, dry shampoo, lip balm, extra safety pins, and a small pillow for the ride home. Everything else on the forty-item lists
What to Pack for Mastectomy Surgery: A Hospital Bag Checklist From a Certified Fitter Read More »
The words certified mastectomy fitter usually arrive on a prescription or a discharge sheet, with no explanation attached. A certified mastectomy fitter is a trained health professional who fits external breast prostheses (breast forms worn outside the body) and post-surgical bras. She has completed a pre-certification course, at least 120 supervised hours with patients, and
What a Certified Mastectomy Fitter Is Trained to Do Read More »
Almost every woman swells after breast surgery, and that swelling is not lymphedema. It shows up soon and settles. Lymphedema arrives much later and does not resolve. Lymphedema is swelling caused by lymph fluid collecting in the tissue between skin and muscle, when the lymphatic system — the network of vessels and nodes that drains
Breast Cancer Lymphedema: How to Tell It Apart From Normal Post-Surgery Swelling Read More »
If your health plan covers mastectomy and you elect reconstruction, federal law requires it to cover breast prostheses too. The Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act has set that floor since 1998. It does not set the detail: your share of the cost, replacement intervals, and whether a pocketed bra is included come from your
Most gifts that go unused were chosen carefully. They just did not fit, arrived in the wrong week, or were bought for the diagnosis instead of for the person. Patients are specific about which ones went in a closet, and why. The Gifts That Get Put Away Were Bought for the Diagnosis Skip anything scented,
The Best and Worst Gifts for Someone Going Through Cancer Treatment Read More »