Mastectomy prosthetic - 38GG

Hello Jac 

My name is Steph and I'm part of the Community team. I hope you're finding the Community to be a helpful and supportive space.

I was sorry to hear that you're needing further surgery and for your concerns over your appearance through recovery. Our Cancer Information Nurse Specialists will be the best people to answer your question.

I'm just posting here to let you know that I have moved your question here into the nurses session, so they can offer you some support as soon as they can. This online Ask an Expert nurses session is closed for Christmas at the moment, however if you'd rather not wait for an answer, you can also ask our nurses through our Support Line. Our Support Line teams are available 7 days a week, 8am-8pm on freephone 0808 808 00 00, email or live webchat.

You might also find it helpful to ask members of the Community if they have any similar experience and can offer any advice. You could post your question in the breast cancer forum in case anyone has any ideas, or to talk through your worries. 

There's also some information here from Macmillan that might be helpful when you're deciding around breast reconstruction.

I do hope this is helpful whilst you await a formal response from our nurses. 

Please do keep talking in the forums and reach out if you'd like further expert support.

Best wishes

Hi Murraymint25

Welcome to the Online Community here at Macmillan. My name is Vanessa and I am one of the information nurses.

I can see that one of my colleagues has responded to say this service is closed for Christmas but I have been able to answer your question today.

I see from your profile that you have joined our online breast cancer group. I hope you’ll find it a good source of information and support.

I’m sorry to read what a difficult time you are having.

Here at the Macmillan Support Line, we can give general advice and support. We are independent from the NHS and don’t have access to medical records so can’t give personalised information.  

From your post it sounds like you are having a mastectomy and then an expandable implant is going to be used.

I can understand your concerns about being unsymmetrical. Whilst we are not able to recommend a specific supplier Breast Cancer Now have a list of suppliers of bras, prostheses, clothes and swimwear.

The list of prostheses suppliers within the link above does include some that offer made to measure prostheses. These include:

Liberty

Woman zone

Amoena also offer a comprehensive range of prostheses including custom fit and one called adapt air which allows you to adjust the size as needed.

I also wonder if you might benefit from giving our support line a call. We often find this gives you the opportunity to ask more questions if needed. It can be very overwhelming not knowing how things might affect you moving forward. And although we can’t tell you exactly what to expect, we can help explain what usually happens for most people in a similar situation.

I hope you find this information helpful. You can also always call one of our nurses directly if you want to talk over your concerns or require any further support.

Take care

Vanessa G, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist 

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email. 

 Ref: VG/IY