Tag Archives: Cup size

Bra shopping

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WARNING: NSFW / graphic content below.

My exchange surgery was on September 11. We swapped out the tissue expander on my left and made a pocket revision to correct the implant bottoming out on the right. The follow up appointment was two weeks later. Everything feels and looks relatively good. Some twinges of pain here and there, but that is to be expected. As far as my results: small issue, but it’s still early as things will change and settle for a while. My next follow up is at six weeks.

Compression braI have been wearing this sexy little hospital-issued number almost 24/7 and was hoping to hear that I could ditch it. Well, I can burn that one, but I do need to continue wearing something. It should be wire-free, but have a tight band. I set out bra shopping this weekend and quickly became frustrated! The first two stores didn’t even carry a 32. I ended at Victoria’s Secret, where I should have started, but that was tiring too. It seems that out of the 23049814 bras VS carries, only a few are wire-free.

First tried on the Perfect Comfort Demi Push-Up in 32DD. Too much padding, I’m still spilling out (no DDD), and the VS girl didn’t know her shit – it has an underwire. I went home with two of the Sexy Tee Wireless Bra in 32D. It truly is wire-free and has no extra padding.

VS bras

photoUpdate: I also went to Nordstrom Monday. My location does not work with United Healthcare, but they offered to provide the paperwork and I can file it myself for UHC to review and decide on.

I didn’t mention this option originally, but should have. As Joyce wrote in the post comments, Nordstrom has fitters and works with most insurance companies for post-mastectomy bra needs. They will find the right bra and file paperwork for the insurance company to cover the expense. Appointment required.

I bought How Perfect by Wacoal in 32D. It is super soft! Love it.

The results

As I mentioned things are looking pretty good, but I do see a small issue: asymmetry. Prior to this surgery my right implant had bottomed out and was lower than the left. Now I am seeing the opposite, although not as much of a difference. I also have a sneaking suspicion that my right side is getting tighter, which may be a sign of capsular contracture, but I don’t want to panic just yet and continue to massage like Dr. M advised.

It is still early and things will continue changing. This may be a non-issue in a few months or it may be worse .. we shall see. In any case, I am just pointing out what I see now. I have not lost sight of the big picture and reason for all of this: I said NOPE to breast cancer! In the words of the wise Casey Eischen: “Prevention, not perfection.” 🙂 ❤

These things really don’t look like a D naked, but you know bras are like jeans: there are multiple ways to measure and it seems like every brand does it their own way. The bras I bought will serve for the next month. After that I hope I can go bra-free.

Reminder: Mentor round, smooth, high profile silicone implants in 450ccs.

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So what size are you?

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It’s strange how often I have heard this question. Yes, I had a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy, and yes, my boobs seem to be growing right before your eyes, but this question is not appropriate for watercooler chat. We’re not that chummy! How would you like it if I asked your wife her bra size? Kind of weird, no? Apparently not. If I had a Dollar …

Quest markerThe times I actually did answer this question, the only measurement I had was the volume in ccs. Unless you’re one of “us,” this don’t mean jack, so after yet another time I fielded this question, I decided to go on a quest and figure out exactly what the magic number was.

How I measured my cup size

A lot of women make an appointment for a fitting by someone who knows what they’re doing (usually Nordstrom lingerie department). I have not yet taken this step, because I’m not completely finished. Off to Google and the FaceBook groups I went. There seem to be a few different ways to do this. One of the ladies in a FB group, who is familiar with the topic, was happy to assist.

Bust measurement

Source: Jason Lee, RealSimple.com

Without a top, I first measured the underbust, which is the lower yellow line in the graphic = 29″.

Traditional sizing says to add 4″ if even number or 5″ if odd number.  Modern sizing rounds up to the next even number. We went with modern sizing, so that brought me to 30.

Then I measured at the top yellow line, which is the widest part of the bust = 36″.

The math: subtract the underbust from the bust. The difference is what determines size, with each inch representing one cup size. 1 = A, 2 = B, 3 = C, etc.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have our verdict: 30 DDD. Yes, that’s right D D D. I was shocked when we came to this conclusion. I still am. I was not expecting this at all. Having been wearing an A cup bra pre-op, triple Ds just seem ridiculous to me. I never had a number or letter in mind when thinking about reconstruction. I was of the mindset that I would keep expanding until things seemed just right. I hit that point at about 400ccs. Having read a lot of feedback of women feeling that they should’ve gone bigger, I told my plastic surgeon that the sweet spot was 450ccs. Since I’m getting round implants, we overfilled by 100 for a total of 550ccs. It’s at the overfill point that I measure a DDD, so this isn’t the final FINAL verdict. I will get a professional fitting a couple of months after my exchange, once things settle down. Stay tuned!

Here’s an interesting graphic related to cup size. A 30F on me is a 38C on someone with a larger ribcage/underbust. It’s all about body size and proportion.

Cup size and proportion