I love this Unobra. Screw you Cancer! Let’s do this!

CLAIRE

“I was 34 when diagnosed with breast cancer that had gone to my lymph nodes.

In the last 10 months I have had chemo, a mastectomy and radiotherapy. All of my friends are talking about marriage, babies and breastfeeding and I am in a very different place. I was super fit and healthily, I don’t have any family history of breast cancer nor genes that pre-dispose me to cancer, I don’t drink or smoke, I go to the gym, I was honestly living my best life! Diagnosis was therefore a big shock.

My journey to being flat started at diagnosis when I said straight away that I wanted to have a mastectomy without reconstruction. I just wanted to give myself the best possible chance of future proofing myself and in my mind, at that time, being boobless was the best option for my peace of mind and I didn’t want to go through more surgery. I’ve always felt confident and grateful for having a functioning body. It has taken me to some amazing places - Hiking the Inca Trail and up several other mountains across several continents. I feel really determined that not having a boob won’t take away my confidence. This has been easier said than done at times!

Even with no hair and one boob I ironically feel more feminine than I ever have in my life. I have been stripped back to the rawest version of myself.

I don’t need two boobs to represent what a ‘real’ woman is. I look at my scar now and I think ‘hell yes’. I’m more bad-ass than I thought. The scar represents all of the love and support I have been shown over the last 10 months by friends, family and others who have reached out. It represents life, hope and determination.

I didn’t want to hide or shoe-horn myself into underwear made for the ‘normal’ double breasted woman. I want to be my true, visible, authentic self.

I love this Unobra. Screw you Cancer! Let’s do this!