THE ABLE LABEL

Shop By Need Guide: Cancer recovery

Our Shop By Need guides are here to help you grow in confidence and overcome dressing difficulties.

With one in two people being diagnosed with cancer, it's horribly likely either yourself or a loved one has had to fight the horrid disease. The most common form of cancer in the UK is breast cancer, with one in ten women being diagnosed working out to be roughly around 55,000 women and 400 men being given the dreaded diagnoses every year.

Here at the Able Label we're proud to offer a few products for those who've battled breast cancer and had to have make their lives post Mastectomy, lumpectomy or any kind of surgery a little bit more comfortable.

Post surgery specific bras

Traditional bras can be both painful and can also sit incorrectly post surgery. This will cause both mental and physical discomfort for anyone who's already overcoming the challenges of a post cancer surgery. A few benefits of our post surgery bras are:

  • They have anti-bacterial, thermo-regulating X-STATIC fibre technology
  • To make fitting easier, they are available in dual cup sizing.
  • With no padding and coming non wired they're more comfortable on surgery areas
  • Having adjustable touch closing straps make access to surgery areas easier.

Sizing help

It really is worth taking the time to have an expert fitting before you go into hospital for guaranteed comfort and fit however, if you can’t get along to a fitting before you go into hospital, here are our top tips.

  • The band of the bra should fit snugly around your ribs and not ride up at the back.

  • Your breast(s) should be fully enclosed within the cup of the bra, with no bulges or wrinkles.

  • If you are going to have breast augmentation or reduction, allow for the cup size you will have after surgery (with some space for post-operative swelling).

  • Fit your bra on one of the middle fastenings, giving you the chance to loosen or tighten the bra if you need to.

  • If you wear a prosthesis, fit the bra to your natural breast and make sure the bra is supporting it well – especially if you have recently lost or gained weight.

Further reading

We've written a bit more information on bras for after surgery, you can read it below

Post surgery recovery resources

If you have surgery on the horizon or know someone who does or has just gone through their operation. finding information can be daunting with so much out there. We'd recommend turning to either the NHS or Macmillan cancer support for a bit more information.

NHS - A useful guide that will put your mind to ease as what your life could look like post surgery before you're home.

Macmillan - A great way to see how life can be made easier and more comfortable for post surgery both in the short and long term.

'I would say that once you get your diagnosis, try to plan ahead and start looking for a bra.'

Valerie's story

We spoke to breast cancer survivor, Valerie, to learn her journey from diagnosis to recovery. She shared her insights and offers some helpful tips and advice to anyone who is going through what she did.