A cancer charity based in Gateshead has quietly built a service that restores something many women lose after breast cancer surgery: the ability to dress normally and feel at ease in their own skin.
Fighting All Cancers Together, known as Fact, operates from Wrekenton and offers free monthly bra fitting workshops exclusively for those who have undergone mastectomy. Participants try different specialist bras and prosthetic breasts before placing orders. The approach avoids both the coldness of hospital clinics and the pressure of commercial retail.
Roughly 60,000 women receive a breast cancer diagnosis in the United Kingdom each year. About a quarter of them face either mastectomy or lumpectomy. For many the physical change brings practical problems that official aftercare often leaves unaddressed.
Barbara Stubbings was diagnosed with breast cancer a decade ago and expects to complete her latest treatment in November. She did not initially know how to obtain a specialist bra. Jo Silcock fitted her, supplied an insert, and enabled her to wear the same clothes as everyone else. "She thinks highly of the fitter," the reports note. The practical help allowed Stubbings to look normal again.
Jo Silcock leads the sessions. She has observed that after surgery many women see only what they have lost. The workshops aim to make them feel fantastic in a bra again while removing one source of worry. According to BBC News, Silcock describes the space as one where women in similar situations feel comfortable and understood. It is neither clinical nor retail. Shy participants often leave with visible confidence.
The service helps women regain confidence after mastectomy surgery by allowing them to feel better about their appearance in a supportive non-clinical environment. Silcock has stated that participants leave the sessions feeling better than when they arrived.
