HOLISTIC HEALTH Learning about breast health is best defense

Surprisingly simple techniques can lower a woman's risk of breast cancer.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
Shalimar Jones, owner of Above the Heart in Boardman, sells lingerie as her business, but her real passion is to educate people about proper care of the breasts and prevention of breast disease. She believes the first and most basic step toward maintaining healthy breasts is a properly fitted bra, especially for large busted women. She supplies bras in sizes that no department store would carry, as large as 56 N. And she also believes most women are wearing the wrong bra size, which can contribute to numerous health problems.
Women do not think of breasts as a health issue," says Jones. "Nine out of ten women are wearing the wrong bra. In the '70s, women burned their bras, so manufacturers had to find ways to make bras fashionable again. They designed sexy bras, like underwires, which cut off the lymphatic flow, and can contribute to breast cancer. (The lymph nodes drain toxins and impurities from the breasts.) I am providing a unique service to the fashion industry with a woman's health in mind."
"Most bras give little or no support and distort the breast tissue or displace it, pushing it under the arm" says Jones. "Blood circulation is also restricted. Since there are no muscles in the breasts, wearing a bra that does not support properly will cause the breast to sag, and the weight pulls at the muscles in the neck and back, which can cause headaches, backaches, and shoulder pain."
Protection
Jones especially believes that women who exercise should wear the proper bra. She does free bra fittings on a regular basis at places like Curves. "Every time a woman's breast bounces, it tears and breaks down delicate tissue," she says.
What are some of the ways to tell if your bra is the wrong size?
UDo you experience pain while walking or exercising?
UDo your straps dig into your shoulders, or leave grooves on your rib cage, or does your bust come out from underneath your bra?
UDo you get rashes or irritations under your bust?
UDoes your bra ride up in the back?
UAnd your cup should definitely not runneth over.
Custom fitted bras will also help re-align the spine, reduce breast water retention and tenderness, and take pressure off the diaphragm area for easier breathing.
One of the specialty bras Jones carries in her store is a product of Jeunique, called the "Cameo Bra." It was designed by N.O. Brantly, the engineer who also designed the Brantly 305 helicopter in 1946, which he later sold to Lear. He used the same three principles to design his bra as he did his helicopter: thrust, suspension, and gravity. Today, Brantly's "Cameo Bras" come in 200 sizes.
Circulation
Jeunique Bras also have an exclusive feature they call the "Banderin," and they describe it, and its benefits as follows: "A shelf-type support designed to encourage delicate bust tissue up and forward into the cup area, supporting and directing [it] as nature intended ... to properly allow circulation to take place. The bust must be supported from underneath the breast. . .not suspended from shoulders."
Jones instructs her clients the proper way to get into a custom bra. Certain bras, like Cameo and Confidante have cups that unhook, so they may be used by nursing mothers, and she also carries other maternity lingerie. And she says that a bra must be washed after every wearing.
Jones recommends massaging the breast outward from the underarm area toward the nipple. This helps to reposition tissue that may have been restricted due to an ill-fitting bra, and benefits the lymph and vascular system by freeing compressed tissue and vessels. Creams such as "Breast Beauty Cr & egrave;me or Avon's Bust-Sculpt are useful in massage.
Credentials
In addition to selling lingerie, Jones is also a certified mastectomy fitter through the Board of Orthotist/Prosthetist Certification and a Registered Mastectomy Fitter by the American Board for Certification in Orthotics and Prosthetics, Inc. She carries and fits a wide range of prosthetics, including custom made. She is especially devoted to educating surgeons, particularly those who perform breast cancer surgery about the realities of what women suffer after having a breast removed, at the physical, emotional, and financial levels.
"Doctors have no clue what women have to go through with prosthetics," she says. "They need to be educated about how surgery affects women, and be more sensitive to a woman's body. I've seen clean surgeries, and have also seen surgeries that left physical and emotional scars, failed reconstructive work where women were left with tissue hanging, making it very difficult to fit a prosthetic. And doctors often don't know where to tell women to go to be fitted for prosthetics. A lot of educating needs to happen"
She is also frustrated with the insurance system that dictates how much a woman can spend for a bra. "The insurance companies sometimes only allow $20, but often special bras can cost up to $120. Custom prosthetics can run as high as $3,500."
Jones may be reached at Above the Heart, Inc., 1449 Boardman-Canfield Rd ( Creekside Plaza), (330) 726-2131.
XLaughing Crow is a practitioner of holistic healing. She may be reached at laughingcrow@neo.rr.com.