Beating Cancer Three Times Inspired This Woman to Invent a Mastectomy-Friendly Bra
We’ve all had those fitting room moments when we stare into the mirror and wonder, Does this really have to be so hard? But when a fashion CEO has one of those moments, that’s when real change can happen. Fran Dunaway may run one of the most buzzed-about underwear brands, but after she had a double mastectomy last May, she found herself at an almost complete loss when it came to bra shopping. A three-time cancer survivor, the TomboyX cofounder had already experienced one of the less talked-about aesthetic effects of battling the disease: how breasts can change shape or size after radiation treatments. She remembers wishing she had a bra to which she could add an insert on just one side or stack a couple of inserts. Then, after her recent mastectomy, she opted not to have breast-reconstruction surgery. “The reality was that it would mean two more surgeries for me and I'd had enough surgery, thank you,” she says. “For me, I just couldn't get my head around putting myself through that to make other people feel comfortable with how I look now.”
After the surgery, she also couldn’t get her head around how underwhelming the bra options were, especially considering how many women undergo the same surgery. “I was given a prescription and told I could go to a department store to be fitted for a mastectomy bra and I thought, That's awesome,” she says. “But when I got there, the options for me were pretty limited.” Instead of bras designed with her situation in mind, she was given regular bras adapted with a flimsy piece of fabric meant to hold a prosthetic, in styles much more frilly and femme than anything she’d ever wear. Not only were the options off-putting and ill-fitting, but “the ones I got were coming apart within two weeks—hardly an empowering experience overall,” recalls Dunaway, who continued to lead the TomboyX team throughout her most recent breast-cancer treatment and recovery. “I thought, Well, it’s a good thing I own a bra company!”
“Bras are one of the most complicated things to make, right up there with shoes, because of all the various components required to do it well and to do it comfortably.”
Of course, Dunaway also knew firsthand that a perfect bra is easier to dream up than actually build. “Bras are one of the most complicated things to make, right up there with shoes, because of all the various components required to do it well and to do it comfortably,” she says. TomboyX’s first bra styles had focused on simplicity and ease—“for lounging around, not bouncing around.” Yet she immediately set out to design bra options more functional, comfortable, and versatile for women interested in using prosthetic inserts for whatever reason—post-mastectomy, during transition, or just to even out asymmetrical breasts. The resulting styles, the Ruched Bralette With Removable Inserts and the Soft Sports Bra With Removable Inserts, feature built-in pouches large enough that you can easily insert prosthetic breast forms, if desired, without any struggle or worry that they’ll pop out.
It’s the type of seemingly small design adjustment that can make a huge difference in how you feel. “TomboyX is all about empowerment and giving you the confidence to go about your day and be your best,” says Dunaway of the brand, which takes a gender-neutral, size-inclusive, and sustainable approach to design.
“It’s about wanting people to feel comfortable in their own skin,” she says. In fact, she believes her work on the brand is a big part of what empowered her to opt out of reconstructive surgery: “I think it gave me permission to question things in a way that I might not have done the first time I had breast cancer.” Most of all, she wants other women battling the disease to know that whatever choices they make, they’re not alone. “We’re not breast cancer survivors," she says. "We’re breast cancer warriors. Breast cancer is not a thing you passively survive. It’s brutal, it's uncomfortable, it's not pretty, and you have to be a warrior to get through it. There will be good days and bad. Pull the people you love close to you for support. Be patient with yourself, and most of all, never be ashamed to talk about everything you’re going through.”
Originally Appeared on Glamour
