A woman from Norfolk has inspired a new range of bras for other ladies who have triumphed the condition.
Chelle Kime, 51, a personal trainer and breast cancer survivor from Norwich, initiated the project with Amanda Pickstock, from Bristol.
Amanda, 51, is a personal trainer and owner of activewear company Wild Legs, which produces a variety of clothing for women, and she will be designing the bras.
The two women met through an online fitness professional group, with Chelle struggling to find a comfortable bra two years after her lumpectomy, which is a type of surgery that removes cancer from the breast.
Chelle said, “I explained to Amanda that I was having lots of problems finding a suitable bra. Post surgery, and all of the other treatment, you’re left with quite a lot of soreness and scars.”
For Chelle’s surgery they had to take a 17mm lymph node from under her breast, which meant that they had to cut fairly deep.
She said, “All the sports bras I have tried will rub on the under-arm incision, which feels unbearable as it’s still so tender – even two years later.
“She sent a bra through to me, which still sat too high and on the scars. So we got talking, and she said she’d like to develop a sports bra range that was suitable for ladies that have been through breast cancer.”
The ladies have released a national survey on Amanda’s website for Wild Legs, called Project Mission Remission, which aims to collect feedback from women who are in a similar position and are interested.
These bras won’t just be designed for women who want to work out post-surgery. The bras can be worn daily, to provide comfortable movement for ladies who have had lumpectomies or reconstruction surgery after surviving breast cancer.
Amanda said, “If it’s the right colour and fit and it’s comfortable, it just doesn’t really matter how or when you want to wear it. In fact, I don’t wear normal bras anymore because they’re uncomfortable and I enjoy wearing activewear bras daily.”
She talks about how important it is for women to feel empowered and confident while championing her line.
The designs of the bras will differ from normal bras massively, to maximise comfort for ladies post-surgery. Amanda said, “The first thing that I want to do is lower the cut of the bra under the armpit so there isn’t fabric rubbing there.”
Chelle also said, “The material will be fairly soft, they won’t have any seams or under-wire, and the band of the bra will be bigger so it provides support.”
Amanda said that her priorities are starting with a simple product, as well as ensuring they are accessible to many, to ”pave the way for products later on as we get more and more feedback. I want to make it affordable, and possibly introduce a scheme to help women who can’t afford the bras.”
Amanda’s plans are to get a focus group of ladies together over the next couple of months to trial the styles. She said: “It could be a year before it comes to the market, but I want to get it right, so I’d rather take the time to get it right.”
The first prototypes will be simple activewear bras, and should be trialled by ladies who have contributed to the survey in 6-8 weeks.
