(pictures courtesy of Victoria’s Secret)

Bra-less vs. Breast cancer
- from PDI article Inside Out by Cory Quirino (9/19/06)

…”Women who wear very tight bras for a long period of time, say 12 hours a day, are more likely to develop breast cancer than those who dont wear bras…(from the book Dressed to kill: The truth between cancer and bras)…

Worse, women who wear bras when they sleep are 125 times more likely to develop the dreaded disease.

Tight bras smash lymph vessels situated very close to the breast’s surface. The cleansing action of lymph fluids that flow through the vessels to clean out toxins is prevented by bras.

Bras also squeeze clusters of lymph nodes in the armpits that produce immune cells to fight disease.

TIPS:

1. Dont wear a bra to bed
2. Use a bra loosely. It should never leave a mark on your back or skin.
3. When removing a bra, massage your breasts to get the lymph flowing again.
4. Try to minimize wearing underwire, push-up or strapless bras.
5. Try not to wear a bra at all.

I had this in my draft entries folder for over a month now. On the morning of Sept 19, I received this text from my husband - women who wear bras when they sleep are 125 times more likely to develop breast cancer. - I called him when I read it. He said he was reading the Inquirer (news in paper mind you) and came upon an article he really wanted me to read. And so he gave me the newspaper article that night and now Im sharing it with all the women out there. Im one of the fortunate ones to have an actual need for underwire bras so I was aghast at the thought that one of my favorite articles of clothing can actually cause cancer. Im also one of those who actually wear bras to bed (Old Navy no pad bras) for fear of sagging breasts. Now my husband delights at the thought of making sure I practice not wearing my bra to bed.

So now do bra manufactures stamp their products with some fine print saying…. WARNING: use of this product can cause cancer - much like how it is with cigarettes, or alcoholic drinks or even the cups that serve hot coffee in MCdo? A part of me feels sorry that I read the article (bad me!) but for the most part its always better to be aware of how we treat our bodies.

Do I still wear my underwires?…. oh yeah… 

(C)