Breast Cancer Survivors Who Undergo Mastectomy and Breast Reconstruction Choose to Wear Cotton Undergarments

Title: Breast cancer survivors who undergo mastectomy and breast reconstruction choose to wear cotton undergarments

Authors: Karen Bravo, M. K. Markey , Sheng-Cheng Huang

The purpose of this research is to identify what type of medical undergarments breast cancer patients are wearing as prescribed by their medical team and/or their personal choice when shopping for an undergarment as they continue healing from breast surgery. The data shows that these women, with different types of breast cancer and different types of reconstruction, choose to wear cotton garments and report dissatisfaction when wearing bandages or nylon undergarments upon hospital discharge. Patients reported that they prefer to not wear anything at all but when they do have to wear an undergarment they preferred natural fibers during and after healing from surgery due to skin condition changes. A pilot study of three women who had breast cancer on one or both breasts and received a variety of treatments and surgeries, participated in answering questions about their experience. A follow up online survey with more participants was then preformed to gather more data. The goal of this study is to learn about breast cancer mastectomy undergarment choices in order to improve upon current decisions being made by both the patient and medical team.