I tried to post this as text, but the file was too big. After reading this, I may switch to the frenchwomen's style of wearing pretty undershirts instead of bras daily, and just wear the bra occasionally.......

My cousin, Julie, died of breast cancer at 35. It wasn't pretty.

http://www.all-natural.com/bras.html

-- (sis@home.zzz), July 14, 2000

Answers

Link-a-roni

-- Helpfull Hostess (HereAll@The.Time), July 15, 2000.

I'd be happy to go braless, they're a pain in the ass..er..chest. Whenever I'm home alone with nothing to do...I reach under the T-shirt and OFF IT COMES! woohoo!

I also read an article once that linked underarm antipersperant (NOT deoderant, just antipersperant) to breast cancer. They said that by inhibiting the bodies natural removal of Toxins through the skin through sweat, under the armpit, the Toxins just sit in the pit...and cause problems. (sorry about the sit in the pit part)

-- kritter (kritter@adelphia.net), July 15, 2000.

I received this in an email. It made me chuckle:

A man walked into the ladies department of a Macy's and shyly walked up to the woman behind the counter and said, "I'd like to buy a bra for my wife."

"What type of bra?" asked the clerk.

"Type?" inquires the man, "There is more than one type?"

Look around," said the saleslady, as she showed a sea of bras in every shape, size, color and material imaginable. "Actually, even with all of this variety, there are really only four types of bras to choose from."

Relieved, the man asked about the types.

The saleslady replied, "There are the Catholic, the Salvation Army, the Presbyterian, and the Baptist types. Which one would you prefer?"

Now befuddled, the man asked about the differences between them.

The saleslady responded, "It is all really quite simple. The Catholic type supports the masses. The Salvation Army type lifts the fallen. The Presbyterian type keeps them staunch and upright, and the Baptist type makes mountains out of mole hills." :-)

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), July 15, 2000.

Welllllll I don't use them myself, so I guess I'm unbiased, right.

Burn 'em.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), July 17, 2000.

This is gonna be one of those rare ocassions when I *don't* comment.

Even though it IS a very uplifting subject.

-Greybear

(maybe Lils influence on me is a good thing)

-- Greybear (greybear@home.com), July 20, 2000.

I don't get the point you just made.......

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), July 27, 2000.

I wouldn't put too much weight on this study, sis. Just keep going for the mammograms and doing the monthly breast checks. Breast cancer is a hereditary trait, much like the colon cancer that runs in MY family. There's a test available now for the specific gene that causes it, and one woman whose mom and sister died from breast cancer had the test and learned she did NOT have the gene. She paid $2,000 for the test, but she got peace of mind.

I went MANY years in my younger days braless. There are fabrics and styles that allow this without anyone being the wiser. I STILL go braless a lot, especially if I have a blouse or dress that has a pocket over each breast.

I've seen some movies wherein the actress wore what looked like a bra to bed. Who REALLY does this?

Regarding the fibrocystic breast disease study mentioned, nothing will come of that either. I had that until after I finished nursing the three kids. Nursing has been known to eliminate that problem, and it did for me. My daughter has it, and I RARELY see her in a bra. Her doctor told her to eliminate caffeine from her diet to reduce the problem.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), July 29, 2000.

I promised my self I would not get drawn into this thread. But....

----

A man walked into Victoria's Secret and shyly walked up to the woman behind the counter and said, "I'd like to buy a bra for my wife."

"What type of bra?" asked the clerk.

"Type?" inquires the man "There is more than one type?"

"Look Around," said the saleslady, as she showed a sea of bras in every shape, size color and material. "Actually, even with all of this variety, there are really only four types of bras," replied the sales clerk.

Confused, the man asked what were the types. The saleslady replied:

1. The Catholic type,

2. The Salvation Army type,

3. The Presbyterian type, and

4. The Baptist type.

Which one do you need?"

Still confused the man asked, "What is the difference between them?"

The lady responded, "It is all really quite simple:

The Catholic type supports the masses,

the Salvation Army type lifts up the fallen,

the Presbyterian type keeps them staunch and upright, and

the Baptist type makes mountains out of mole hills."

------

(I actually don't get it myself)

---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------

-- Lon Frank (lgal@exp.net), August 02, 2000.

This thread broke .....

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), August 03, 2000.

Anita and all:

Julie always did the self exam each month. There was never any lump of any sort. Her first clue something was wrong was that some liquid started to come out one nipple. She went to a doctor, and was scheduled to be seen for consultation soon thereafter. Unfortunately, she had to have a mastectomy, and had the usual lymph nodes all removed. She had CA in something like 25 out of 37 lymph nodes. It was a type of cancer that NEVER MAKES A LUMP. She had the "medium guns" chemo and radiation, but the CA came back about 9 months later after finishing the 1st round of chemo. She then had to get the "big guns" chemo, and the CA started coming back to a spot on her neck DURING the chemo, about 3 weeks into it. She also did radiation with both of those rounds of therapy.

We talked about this whole thing alot when we went on a trip together overseas. She said that in retrospect, the first clue that she actually had that something was wrong was that she had a sore armpit (the lymph nodes there were sore) for quite some time, but she thought that she had pulled a muscle, since she was also a water aerobics instructor as well as a business executive.

She died 5 weeks after we got back from the trip. I miss her.

God Speed, Julie.

-- (sis@home.zzz), August 03, 2000.

Thanks, Sis, for the explanation of "no lumps". I could get paranoid about this now, as I oftentimes experience the soreness in the lymph nodes under my arms. Just this past week, in fact, I thought I'd pulled a muscle and learned my lymph node was swollen. Then again, ever since I had mononucleosis as a kid, my lymph nodes [everywhere] swell up at the first sign of a cold, a mosquito bite, etc.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), August 06, 2000.

Stay focused, stay positve.....

Keep getting checked up - but (try not to, and definitely don't dwell on the potential of an illness ..... I don't subscribe to the latest holiestic "power of positive thoughts" theories about your health, but most people can hurt themselves (mentally most certainly!) by being paranoid about "sickness."

Beside, it's no fun staying forever focused on being "potentially" ill.

-- Robert A. Cook, PE (Marietta, GA) (cook.r@csaatl.com), August 06, 2000.

I have read alot on the topic of bras causing cancer, and I am not totally convinced maily due to the sources of the studies. It seems that none of the people doing the studies are actual experts in breast cancer. I read one article/book done by an anthropologist! That isn't a doctor! Alas, i CAN see how tight underwire bras can contribute to certain problems. I am a braless woman for the most part, but I chose to forego the bra strictly for comfort and astetic reasons. I just never found bra-wearing comfortable, even after I had been professionally fitted several times. It's basically a tight elastic harness on our body! I live in the south where it is warm and humid, and a bra doesnt help in the comfort department. I also choose to go without because I like the way my breasts look in tops without a bra on. I just prefer the natural shape of them, and not having bralines and back bulging. Im small busted, so I can get away going without luckily.

-- Penny McGlade (cigs4me27@hotmail.com), July 14, 2003.