Breast Cancer and Health Insurance: What’s Covered and What’s Not
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Breast Cancer and Health Insurance: What’s Covered and What’s Not

What’s the one body part Medicare won’t pay to replace with a custom made prosthesis? You guessed it, a woman’s breast. Insurance, in most cases, does pay for a non-custom prosthetics and/or surgical reconstruction (using implants or existing muscle and fat to build a new breast). But reconstruction isn’t an option for everyone, nor is it a…

What it Takes to Succeed at Breastfeeding

What it Takes to Succeed at Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is like child-rearing: not as easy as it first appears. Women’s breasts don’t look all that complicated from the outside. But our mammary wonders produce a mysterious, magical food source that can’t be measured. And no two mothers have the same nursing experience. Plus each baby is unique. My three presented me with distinct…

How to get the best bra fit: interview with FabFoundations expert Ali Cudby

How to get the best bra fit: interview with FabFoundations expert Ali Cudby

Although I love lingerie and know quite a bit about it, I can still struggle to find the right bra fit. Even when I do succeed in my search, the same style and brand might not be available the next time I need to replenish my lingerie wardrobe. So I asked Ali Cudby, America’s #1 bra…

Looking for a shortcut to new boobs? Breast cancer’s not it. — Guest blog post from Diane Mapes

Looking for a shortcut to new boobs? Breast cancer’s not it. — Guest blog post from Diane Mapes

I was talking to a breast cancer buddy the other day — one of the lucky ones who found her cancer at Stage 0 and got away with a minor lumpectomy — and was amazed and horrified at something she told me. Apparently, while she was still learning about the staging of her disease, a…

bra construction

What You Need to Know About Bra Construction? It’s Complicated

What goes into a bra—other than your breasts? I pay attention to the right fit but don’t inspect every little detail of the finished products found on the hangers in my favorite lingerie store. What do I need to know about bra construction? I don’t treat my bras as complicated pieces of equipment, despite the engineering…

Breastfeeding Basics: Treat Yourself to Beautiful Nursing Bras

Breastfeeding Basics: Treat Yourself to Beautiful Nursing Bras

I wasn’t one of those glowing pregnant women. And once my babies arrived, I had a tough time figuring out the breastfeeding basics, including nursing bras. The only woman in my family who had nursed her kids was an older sister who lived two states away. Multiple pregnancies didn’t make me a lactation expert either….

Pink Ribbons, Inc.: Taking on The Breast Industrial Complex

Pink Ribbons, Inc.: Taking on The Breast Industrial Complex

I’m not sure why watching the documentary Pink Ribbons, Inc., made me so angry. I’d read Samantha King’s book, on which the film is loosely based, back in 2008. I reviewed it, along with Gayle Sulik’s similar work on the subject, Pink Ribbon Blues. I recently wrote a blog on Breasts: A Natural and Unnatural History, a new non-fiction work which, among…

Buying Your Daughter Her First Bra: Five Do’s and Don’ts

Buying Your Daughter Her First Bra: Five Do’s and Don’ts

The Real Housewives of New Jersey’s recent bra buying episode prompted me to ask my grown girl what she remembers about buying her first bra. In the controversial RHNJ clip, Teresa Guidice mocks her 10-year old daughter’s body. Gia responds with predictable embarrassment. I wondered if my own daughter recalled how I reacted to her blossoming breast…