Breast Cancer and the Genie Bra

In 2009 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I underwent a lumpectomy and had both radiation and chemotherapy. What I haven't been able to do since that lumpectomy is wear a bra. Not that I mind, but some clothes require a bra and I couldn't wear one until ...

One day, my youngest daughter told me that her upscale consignment boutique had just gotten in some Genie bras and she thought that I might be able to wear them. I was suspicious. Every bra I'd ever tried on hurt, because my cancer was located just under my right breast at the point where an underwire would scrape and push on it. Imagine somebody placing a large hard rock just under the underwire on your bra and having to walk around with that huge lump ever present. What happened was that the surgery effectively replaced my 4-centimeter-wide lump with close to 6 centimeters of rock-hard scar tissue.

So when anybody suggested I try on anything that had elastic of any kind, I soon discovered that I couldn't wear it.

Until I tried on the Genie bra. For three and a half years I went without a bra, and still do for some summer clothes, but now I know I can wear those nearly-see-through tops again with my new Genie bras.

I'd like to thank the makers of Genie Bras for making a bra so comfortable that even breast cancer survivors with rock-hard scar tissue can wear them. I've included links to the Genie Bra for anyone looking for comfort after breast cancer surgery. Just click anywhere you find Genie. Of if an ad appears above this post, you can click that.

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Cancer, Hair Loss, and Aussie

I never really liked my hair, and I was never very good at primping. My poor daughters, at a very young age, had to learn how to fix their own hair because my fingers couldn't coordinate all of the hair implements necessary for creating any type of style.

Once, when I tried braiding one of my daughters' hair, I twisted her hair around my fingers so badly, I had to cut it out of my hand.

You might think I would be grateful for having lost all of my hair during chemo last year so I could get a fresh start. And I have to admit it was kind of a relief to not have to force my hair into something remotely close to attractive. I always wore my hair in pony tails or put it up with banana barrettes, because I had no skill in creating hairstyles.

But then I lost all of my hair and whoa! What a surprise! When I stopped taking the "bad" chemo (I'm on the "good" chemo now), my hair grew back ultra curly! Sadly all of my former cowlicks remained.

Ever since my hair grew back, I've been on a quest to find hair products that will tame down this Brillo pad that sits on the top of my head, and two very important factors played a heavy role in determining which products I would use on my hair – texture and fragrance.

I wanted my hair to be SOFT and I wanted something that would smell good, but I also wanted something that wouldn't put me in the hospital with an asthma attack because of my allergy to so many fragrances.

My quest for a good hair product lead me to Aussie.

Aussie hair styling products are my favorite hair products. Aussie's fragrance is beautiful and before I cover my hair with hairspray (something I NEVER used to use prior to getting cancer), and after using Aussie "hair insurance" and Aussie "catch the wave," my hair's texture is remarkably soft.

So yes, using the hair spray kind of defeats the purpose when it stiffens my soft hair, but without it, my hair moves in a thousand directions.

And if I let my hair dry without using any products, the texture of my hair is wiry. Aussie's leave-in conditioner helps me feel as if I am doing something healthy for my hair.

Aussie's "catch the wave" mousse allows me to move the cowlicks around so that parts of my hair don't look as if I am permanently affixed to a light socket because my hair has a tendency to ignore the rules of gravity.

My hair still isn't as soft as I would like for it to be, but I'm hoping that once the "chemo hair" grows out, what lies beneath has a more silky texture and that Aussie will help me grow a beautiful head of hair.

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