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The Rewarding Life of Mastectomy Fitters

Helping women look and feel beautiful after breast cancer surgery is a fulfilling role that leads to a rewarding life. Mastectomy fitters support physicians, their practices, and patients – as well as provide follow-up care after breast or other surgery for breast cancer. They fit patients for external breast prostheses and provide other post-mastectomy products and services. Often, they work within patient care facilities, cancer care centers, and mastectomy boutiques.

Mastectomy and compression garments are an integral part of the post-surgery recovery process and a mastectomy fitter’s role. There are so many options for bra sizing for women, and it’s already difficult enough for women to find the right bra at any other stage of life. A trained mastectomy fitter can help patients find comfortable garments that look good and feel sexy too.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at what’s involved in a fitting appointment, how to become a mastectomy fitter, and considerations of the post-surgery experience.

Fitting Appointment Overview

Once the doctor provides the green light to be fitted for a mastectomy bra, it’s time to find a trained mastectomy fitter. Some physicians and fitters work very closely. It’s recommended that the patient bring one or two of their favorite tops and a family or friend. Bring one of your favorite tops or bras to ensure that you pick a new bra that makes the patient feel comfortable and confident. It’s also recommended to bring a family member or friend to have emotional support as the fitting room can be an intimate space.

Fitters will usually start the appointment by asking – Are you looking for a compression bra or pocketed bra? A compression bra is great for right after surgery, whereas a pocketed bra can help restore the shape you’re familiar with.

Then they may want to know more about post-operative treatments such as radiation. Most fitters will recommend waiting until after radiation to get new bras. And if no more radiation is required, they often ask if you’re shopping for an everyday bra, special occasion, or something suitable for work out.

The fitter will then take the measurements and pick out several styles for trying on.

Train to Become a Mastectomy Fitter

Many fitters find this career rewarding as they help people on their road to recovery and a happy, active, healthy life. It’s known that many mastectomy fitters are breast cancer survivors themselves. If you’re considering becoming a mastectomy fitter, it’s necessary to feel comfortable with women’s bodies – in all shapes and sizes. It also helps you possess the following traits: compassion, warmth, empathy, and problem-solving capabilities.

Then, you must first have a high school diploma, GED, or college degree. Second, you’ll require a mastectomy fitter pre-certification education course and 500 hours of mastectomy fitting patient care. You can decide which of these requirements you would like to fulfill first.

To obtain certification as a mastectomy fitter, you will have to pass exams from the American Board for Certification in Orthotics, Prosthetics and Pedorthics (ABC), the Board of Certification/Accreditation, International (BOC), or both. To learn more about the requirements for certification, please visit the ABC website or the BOC website.

View a list of mastectomy fitter education programs.

Post-Operative Care Doesn’t End There

Many mastectomy patients are discharged home with surgical drains with suction drains. Many do not know that this will be part of their journey, and they experience fear and anxiety of accidentally pulling out the drains and leakage. Patients are asked to charge the bulbs, pour the fluids, and measure the collected amount up to 3-4 weeks. Manual suction bulbs (JP drains) are cumbersome and difficult to use for most women and their caregivers. This process can make an already perilous time unnecessarily burdensome. Mastectomy fitters are unique in understanding and providing help and education about drains to women they help.

One way they can do this is by offering the latest and most advanced solutions for women and their families to simplify and improve their journey. SOMAVAC creates novel medical solutions to make every step on the road to recovery as easy as possible through innovative engineering. Their product “SOMAVAC SVS” reduces the usual fifteen step post-op maintenance routine to four.

Patients now have an option instead of the dangling, painful drains of the past. Please choose one of the links below to find more information about SOMAVAC tailored to your needs, whether you’re a patient or healthcare provider.
“The SOMAVAC [SVS] makes post-surgery discharge collection simple and worry-free …. I actually found the occasional slight hum of the vac quite restful. I highly recommend it over the old gravity-fed bulb method, which can be messy and prone toward infection.” – ZJH from North Carolina.

Mastectomy Fitters that carry the SOMAVAC [SVS]

Please choose one of the links below to find more information about SOMAVAC® tailored to your needs.

For Patients For Clinicians