Ok, so like most women who have had breast cancer, I do have issues some days with the “girls” looking uneven. Well, hell, let’s get real, I am missing a chunk of my left breast due to the lumpectomy.

And ladies and gents what is a lumpectomy technically?  A partial mastectomy.

So I keep looking for products that will help, bras that might fit more comfortably, and so on.

But while I see more and more products, I am not seeing prices on these products that are more down to earth and shall we say, “comfortable”.

In addition, some days I have this random pain where more of my breast used to be.  It’s not unmanageable, but it is there.

Today an article in West Chester PA Patch caught my eye:

West Chester Doctor Invents Shirt to Relieve Post-Mastectomy Pain

Dr. Deb Kimless-Garber has invented a shirt to help women after a mastectomy.

ByJake Speicher

In March 2006, doctors gave their colleague Dr. Deb Kimless-Garber a clean bill of health.  After a double mastectomy and the requisite rounds of treatment, Kimless-Garber was officially cured.

But she still had to deal with two problems.

“Pain and aesthetic,” Kimless-Garber said.  “A lot of women experience something similar to phantom limb pain after a mastectomy.  There’s all of these nerves in the breast, so why wouldn’t they experience pain.”…

“A reconstructed breast looks very different after a mastectomy,” said Kimless-Garber.  “Any type of breast reconstruction is a very different procedure than a breast augmentation.”

She added, “What you get is what looks like flat plateaus or mounds instead of a perky, shapely silhouette.”

That’s when Kimless-Garber went to work.

“What I was suffering from is called post-mastectomy pain syndrome.  Almost 50 percent of women who have surgery on their breast experience it, and it’s kind of a deep, dark, dirty secret,” Kimless-Garber said….

Kimless-Garber spent the next five years basically reverse engineering designs to come up with a shirt that would alleviate post-mastectomy pain while providing breast cancer survivors with a more shapely look in the bust.

That’s when Red Thread tops and breast shapers were born.

“My clothes didn’t fit right, and the pain wouldn’t go away.” Kimless-Garber said.  “So, I started to study fibers and began creating patterns.  It’s really a feat of engineering,” Kimless-Garber said.

The shirts look like a fashion top, except that sewn in underneath the top is what looks like a sports bra.

“Inside is a fully functional bra,” Kimless-Garber said.  “But it has a stretch component that also compresses. “….

A similar problem can occur after a woman has a lumpectomy, where part of the original breast remains intact but doctors have removed the cancerous area leaving a big defect.

“My breast shapers come in different sizes,” Kimless-Garber said.  “Women can place them in the shirt in any way they want in order to get symmetry.”

“Every woman has a different need,” she added.

Oh wow, this sounds great, right?  So I went to her website: Red Thread By Dr. Deb

I will probably never get past her website.

Why?

Pricing.

I don’t know about you, but my wallet is not a bottemless pit.  And that is the largest problem with these products.  You inevitably have to try a couple of different things before you find what it right for you.  So price point is everything.

And incidentally, I still have a “natural” silhouette.  Some days I am a little self conscious, yes.  But then I remember there are worse things in life than being a little lop-sided.

This Dr. Deb has a great idea.  It’s just not everywoman purse friendly.

Again, the website is: www.redthreadbydrdeb.com