A breast cancer survivor revealed how a chance conversation with a new work colleague helped her to feel ‘normal’ again.
Lynne Lamb, 51, was diagnosed with cancer in May 2005 and a month later, she had lymph glands and her breast removed to halt the spread of the disease.
Since that time she has struggled to find comfortable and affordable bras and swimwear.
She has just started working at Mark and Spencer at the Eagles Meadow shopping centre in Wrexham.
Help came thanks to a chance conversation with new workmate Diane Williams who is one of a team of six bra fitters there.
Lynne, a mother-of-two from Acrefair, Wrexham, explained: “It is weird because you come out of hospital and you think what happens now? They give you, what I call a spongy boob, but if you try and put it in your normal bra and you walk about a bit, it just starts to come out. It can rub a bit as well and it makes you sweat if you get too hot.”
According to Lynne, her problems really started when she tried to find swim wear for a holiday to Turkey the following year after her surgery.
She said: “I had real trouble finding anything to wear. I ended up just buying one of those tankini tops with matching bottoms but it would have been nice to have somewhere to have put my prosthesis.”
Lynne tried various mail order companies which specialised in mastectomy bras but often found them very expensive and said there is no one there to make sure she had selected the best fitting garment. This is why she believes the Marks and Spencer service is so valuable.
She said: “It makes a huge difference having someone there helping you. It is somebody you can talk to about it and you start to feel normal again.
“It is sad because for a while I thought I was never going to wear nice things again but the specialist bras here are really pretty and affordable.”
The efforts of the bra fitting team at Marks and Spencer to help women with breast cancer has not stopped at simple measuring up.
They have gathered in donations from staff across the Wrexham store in order to buy almost 300 post surgery bras which had come in to the store’s latest sale.
One of the other members of the bra fitting team, Norina Evans, took them to the Shooting Stars Cancer Treatment Unit at the Wrexham Maelor Hospital in the hope they might help other women dealing with the disease.
Diane Williams, 52, has worked for Marks and Spencer for 22 years and has more than 10 years of experience measuring up ladies, including those who have had breast cancer and may have a prosthesis to fit into their bra.
The mother-of-two, from Borras Park, Wrexham, said she found it very rewarding to help customers who are going through a very traumatic time in the life and that the fitting of a decent specialist bra could help them to feel ‘feminine’ again.
She said: “As women, we are conscious of our own bodies anyway, we can’t help it, so many women feel devastated when they lose a breast.
“I feel we help women to feel normal again. Women want to wear pretty bras after their surgery and they want to look the same as they did before.”
The store has a wide range of fashionable underwear and swimwear for customers to choose from with samples in every size. The chosen garment is then ordered in to arrive in store a few days later. Each has a specially designed pocket inside to hold the prosthesis and other small features to encourage a natural looking shape and to ensure there is no chance of the prosthesis being seen.
Lynne is a big fan of her new underwear and said: “To be honest, the bras are so comfortable that it feels just like I have got my boob back!
“When you are going out, all women like to wear pretty underwear and it makes you feel good. The lovely thing is that the next time I am going somewhere really special, I shall think, I will go and see Diane!”
Any woman battling breast cancer can benefit from the free bra fitting service at Marks and Spencer, simply by coming and speaking to a staff member in store or by ringing to book an appointment.
To find out more about the bra fitting service call the store on 01978 262469 and ask for the lingerie department.
