Local company reimagines prosthetic breast forms to make a positive impact post surgery
A radical new design to benefit women who’ve had mastectomy surgery after breast cancer treatment.
Two women, Rosie Brave and Sam Jackman, have reimagined prosthetic breasts in a bid to make women more comfortable after breast cancer surgery.
Sam, inspired by her mother’s experiences after breast cancer, challenged the idea that a breast prosthesis needed to imitate skin-tone or have a nipple. Instead, she spotted the potential for it to be colourful and reflective of the wearer’s personality. Rosie joined Sam to transform this from idea into reality, producing a range of colourful and decorative breast forms. After speaking with dozens of women in the UK to explore their experiences of life after breast cancer surgery, Rosie started using cut-out patterns, abandoning the idea that the breast form needed to be solid, and in so doing, addressing wearers’ common complaints of their prosthesis being heavy, hot and sweaty to wear.
“The cut-out designs allow air to circulate, and because there is less material, it weighs less. This makes it great for swimming and women who have an active lifestyle.” – Rosie Brave
“We chose a soft mouldable silicone rather than using the silicone gel and plastic film found in standard breast prostheses because these have a limited shelf-life before they split. Once split, they need to be discarded, whereas our material can be repurposed. We wanted to create a product that would last longer and lower the impact on the environment.” – Sam Jackman
1 in 8 women will have a breast cancer diagnosis in their lifetime and breast removal surgery (mastectomy) has a profound emotional and psychological impact on women. “We wanted to do something to help make a small positive difference in the daily lives of women. Creating something colourful that matched the wearer’s mood or personality was a good place to start, and once we understood that we could enhance comfort by altering the structure of the breast form, this seemed another great way to improve women’s daily experiences.” We named our product the Feel Good Breast Form, a play on words to reflect its uplifting and comfortable qualities.”– Rosie Brave
Rosie and Sam have launched a Kickstarter.com crowdfunding campaign and are hoping to raise at least £20,000 to develop and start producing the breast form in a range of sizes. www.wewearboost.com/kickstarter
Boost Innovations (Boost) creates innovative products designed to boost mood, comfort and confidence. Women told Boost that they have to “just make do” but Boost’s rallying cry is “don’t make do, make better.”
https://www.breastcancercare.org.uk/about-us/media/facts-statistics
We wanted to do something to help make a small positive difference in the daily lives of women. Creating something colourful that matched the wearer’s mood or personality was a good place to start, and once we understood that we could enhance comfort by altering the structure of the breast form, this seemed another great way to improve women’s daily experiences.
