I was wondering if anyone has gone back to wearing underwire bras months to years after the reconstruction process was complete.
My onco and several other oncos in LA area advise their patients NOT to wear underwire bras. I just pull the wires right out of the bras. It's easy to do.
Here's one of the articles you can check out. There are plenty of info on this. Some are conflicting like everything else, but I'd rather be on err of caution when I'm in doubt. Plus I trust my onco's advise.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/arch...
We've discussed under wire bras in my support group last year, and it was unanimous advice we got from different oncologists that we should NOT wear under wire bras. It has to do with lymphatic drainage. It increases chance of bc/recurrence.
I have tried underwire bras but reconstructed breasts really do not need the lift from it. My reconstructed breasts do not move/bounce. I wear sport bras because it also put compression on the underarm which helps to reduce the chance of lymphedema (missing 31 lymph nodes; only one confirmed for cancer).
Thanks for all the answers!
If I had a single mastectomy (I had BMX), I would have had a tough time not wearing an underwire bra for support. With the BMX, the support is enough without the underwire, but pretty non-underwire bras are so hard to find (goofy sentiment, I know).
@A MyBCTeam Member: does the underwire impede lymphatic drainage? How would wearing an underwire increase the risk of cancer recurrence?
I just started wearing underwire bras. approx. 1 1/2 yrs since exchange. I'm comfortable. Am I not supposed to wear it???