Sisterhood bra collection: how you can help breast cancer patients

Breast cancer can cause financial problems as well as the obvious major health issues. But there is a practical new way to help a woman on the road to recovery

Every ten minutes a woman in the UK is given the devastating news she has breast cancer. On top of everything else it can cause major money worries as she struggles to work and support herself, and, often a family. Some patients find it hard to afford their bus fares to hospital for treatment.

There are worries that this problem could become even more acute due to the She-cession as more women have been impacted financially due to Covid-19, and over a million have missed their breast cancer screenings. Later detection can mean more treatment is needed.

Why buying a Sisterhood Bra is a great idea

Future Dreams Breast Cancer Charity is working with the NHS on an innovative project enabling women who aren’t diagnosed with the illness to give practical help and support to women who are.

Every bra sold from the Sisterhood Bra collection, aimed at women who have not had breast cancer, means a soft and supportive post-surgery bra is donated to a woman who has had a mastectomy or other breast cancer surgery. The gifted bras are distributed through NHS hospitals.

The charity discovered the need after touring NHS Trusts speaking to breast care nurses. They heard stories about some women having to customise their old boned bras to stop them rubbing and chafing on scar tissue.

Future Dreams CEO Nicky Richmond explains: “A comfortable, soft and supportive bra should be a resource every woman has access to, but the unfortunate and stark reality is that for many it is a ‘luxury’ they can’t afford. A breast cancer diagnosis can often result in them being unable to work and consequently earn, causing financial and emotional strain. Many women on tight finances will prioritise spending on their family rather than buying a bra for themselves. We are hearing about women who struggle to find the bus fares to hospital for their chemotherapy treatments so buying a new bra would be unthinkable.”

Celebs supporting the Sisterhood Bra

The bras for women who have not had breast cancer, are modelled by presenter Amanda Byram, Faye Tozer from Steps and Channel 5 news broadcaster Claudia-Liza Armah.

Claudia-Liza Armah in a Sisterhood Bra (Photography: Simon Emmett)

‘Women are at their most vulnerable post-surgery and they all need something supportive and soft next to their skin. Not only supportive in a fabric sense, but something to feel more secure and confident in and to deal with that time after surgery’ Faye Tozer‘Just because you haven't been affected by breast cancer doesn't mean we can’t all get together and be part of the same team, because we are sisters – we are all together in this journey, called life.’ Amanda Byram‘By buying one of these bras in return you will be able to get a bra to a woman who has gone through breast surgery who can’t afford one and needs it the most.’ Claudia-Liza Armah

Joanna Franks, Consultant Breast and Oncoplastic Surgeon and Future Dreams trustee adds: “It’s really important to get a supportive and comfortable bra. The thing about the Sisterhood Bra is women are great at supporting other women but sometimes don’t know how to. This is a simple idea.”

* The Sisterhood Bra collection is available at Next

Maria Coole is a contributing editor on Marie Claire.

Hello Marie Claire readers – you have reached your daily destination. I really hope you’re enjoying our reads and I'm very interested to know what you shared, liked and didn’t like (gah, it happens) by emailing me at: maria.coole@freelance.ti-media.com

But if you fancy finding out who you’re venting to then let me tell you I’m the one on the team that remembers the Spice Girls the first time round. I confidently predicted they’d be a one-hit wonder in the pages of Bliss magazine where I was deputy editor through the second half of the 90s. Having soundly killed any career ambitions in music journalism I’ve managed to keep myself in glow-boosting moisturisers and theatre tickets with a centuries-spanning career in journalism.

Yes, predating t’internet, when 'I’ll fax you' was grunted down a phone with a cord attached to it; when Glastonbury was still accessible by casually going under or over a flimsy fence; when gatecrashing a Foo Fighters aftershow party was easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy and tapping Dave Grohl on the shoulder was... oh sorry I like to ramble.

Originally born and bred in that there Welsh seaside town kindly given a new lease of life by Gavin & Stacey, I started out as a junior writer for the Girl Guides and eventually earned enough Brownie points to move on and have a blast as deputy editor of Bliss, New Woman and editor of People newspaper magazine. I was on the launch team of Look in 2007 - where I stuck around as deputy editor and acting editor for almost ten years - shaping a magazine and website at the forefront of body positivity, mental wellbeing and empowering features. More recently, I’ve been Closer executive editor, assistant editor at the Financial Times’s How To Spend It (yes thanks, no probs with that life skill) and now I’m making my inner fangirl’s dream come true by working on this agenda-setting brand, the one that inspired me to become a journalist when Marie Claire launched back in 1988.

I’m a theatre addict, lover of Marvel franchises, most hard cheeses, all types of trees, half-price Itsu, cats, Dr Who, cherry tomatoes, Curly-Wurly, cats, blueberries, cats, boiled eggs, cats, maxi dresses, cats, Adidas shelltops, cats and their kittens. I’ve never knowingly operated any household white goods and once served Ripples as a main course. And finally, always remember what the late great Nora Ephron said, ‘Everything is copy.’