Breast cancer is a leading cause of cancer in women, and despite decades of research into the genetics and biochemistry of this disease, little progress has been made in prevention.
Note: I just realized that the image, which is Salvador Dalí, “La jirafa en llamas”, shows a woman in the background who has removed her bra! I chose this image because of it showing the human body with cultural appendages. But I just saw the bra in the hand of the woman in the back. Does it seem like that to you, too?
Fascinating and rings with truth. Clothing as an extension of Wilhelm Reich's character armor in which we stiffen or block parts of the body to protect ourselves or to avoid difficult feelings. He claimed our culturally developed body structure reveals our character and our likelihood of particular kinds of illness due to energy blocks. Eastern medicine such as yoga, qigong, Tai chi and traditional Chinese medicine also recognizes these anatomical and energetic issues that result from distorted or disrupted energy flow. You can take off a bra...and you can go deeper and use the practices mentioned above to restore energy flow, reduce illness and feel f***ing amazing! It also heals mental and emotional issues caused by stagnant or fragmented energy.
This made a lightbulb go on in my head - I had a breast cancer diagnosis a couple of years ago. After a year of treatment, I’m now in remission and still have both boobs but also the lasting and debilitating effects of a large lymph node clearance. I’ve always struggled with bras and felt instinctively that such compression must be harmful, or at least unnatural. In fact, the only sign I remember experiencing that something. might be amiss was that in the months leading up to my diagnosis wearing a bra went from being uncomfortable to unbearable.
I appreciate you drawing attention to this and I’ll be looking into it further. I now rarely wear a bra, and on the days when I do I suffer from bloating and wind, which quickly clears up when I remove it. However the social pressures to wear one remain, particularly as I am a 44DD and find even that size very tight.
Sorry you found out about this now, and not years ago. We have lots of large-breasted women in our International Bra-Free Study, and they have no problem being bra-free. If you need some support, why not join our study? It’s free, and you just stop wearing bras, and tell us the changes you feel. We have some helpful advice, too. BraFreeStudy.org.
When is a bra “absolutely necessary”? From a medical viewpoint, it is not only unnecessary, but is harmful. So you must be referring to cultural necessity. If so, why are you letting others dictate what you should do with your breasts, especially if it affects breast health? I think it’s absolutely necessary for women to stand up to this cultural coercion and just say no to bras. Not only are you being coerced to comply, but you need to pay for the bra, too, and for the mammograms, etc. It’s your body! Take control!
Yes, I am talking culturally necessary. The mammogram thing… I’ve only been coerced once a very long time ago. When I speak of culturally necessary, I mean specifically financially necessary, which also plays a big role in health (but we can talk about this later) . These are the specific situations when a woman is coerced into wearing a bra especially when she has larger breasts… a job interview, a bank loan officer interview, many corporate in office job situations. Meetings with investors, lawyers etc. if a woman isn’t “put together” there are financial ramifications and bras are sadly necessities. I wish it were different but this is the sad reality.
There are ways to manage your breast appearance that don’t constrict or compress them. Let me know if you want information about that. Having large breasts should not mean you have to be uncomfortable physically.
Thank you greatly for all the posts on breast cancer! My BRCA- mother has had it twice and both my grandma and her sister died from same.
I refuse bras and Mammograms which can be as equally dangerous as bras I believe! I’m not going to follow them, I’ve refused bras my entire life so that’s taking down a great risk!
That’s great to hear that you refused bras all your life. My guess is that you have healthy, pain-free breasts. Not using bras is even more important for women with BRCA gene issues. Thanks for connecting.
Are you familiar with or have any info on Hoshimotos, elevated TPOab and gluten? My OB who is an MD but so knowledgeable in natural medicine has brought this issue to my attention. She has said there’s an 80% likelihood of breast cancer in those with elevated TPOab who consume Gluten.
I’m on a low dose med to drop the TPOab and also doing acupuncture for my Thyroid to drop my elevated TPOab. I’m trying to avoid gluten but that can be challenging.
I am just reading your article on stimulating the thyroid with your vocal cords! I can’t believe all I’m learning. Are there any books where I can read more on this?
Note: I just realized that the image, which is Salvador Dalí, “La jirafa en llamas”, shows a woman in the background who has removed her bra! I chose this image because of it showing the human body with cultural appendages. But I just saw the bra in the hand of the woman in the back. Does it seem like that to you, too?
Fascinating and rings with truth. Clothing as an extension of Wilhelm Reich's character armor in which we stiffen or block parts of the body to protect ourselves or to avoid difficult feelings. He claimed our culturally developed body structure reveals our character and our likelihood of particular kinds of illness due to energy blocks. Eastern medicine such as yoga, qigong, Tai chi and traditional Chinese medicine also recognizes these anatomical and energetic issues that result from distorted or disrupted energy flow. You can take off a bra...and you can go deeper and use the practices mentioned above to restore energy flow, reduce illness and feel f***ing amazing! It also heals mental and emotional issues caused by stagnant or fragmented energy.
This made a lightbulb go on in my head - I had a breast cancer diagnosis a couple of years ago. After a year of treatment, I’m now in remission and still have both boobs but also the lasting and debilitating effects of a large lymph node clearance. I’ve always struggled with bras and felt instinctively that such compression must be harmful, or at least unnatural. In fact, the only sign I remember experiencing that something. might be amiss was that in the months leading up to my diagnosis wearing a bra went from being uncomfortable to unbearable.
I appreciate you drawing attention to this and I’ll be looking into it further. I now rarely wear a bra, and on the days when I do I suffer from bloating and wind, which quickly clears up when I remove it. However the social pressures to wear one remain, particularly as I am a 44DD and find even that size very tight.
Sorry you found out about this now, and not years ago. We have lots of large-breasted women in our International Bra-Free Study, and they have no problem being bra-free. If you need some support, why not join our study? It’s free, and you just stop wearing bras, and tell us the changes you feel. We have some helpful advice, too. BraFreeStudy.org.
This is why I refused to wear an underwire bra and only wear a bra when absolutely necessary.
When is a bra “absolutely necessary”? From a medical viewpoint, it is not only unnecessary, but is harmful. So you must be referring to cultural necessity. If so, why are you letting others dictate what you should do with your breasts, especially if it affects breast health? I think it’s absolutely necessary for women to stand up to this cultural coercion and just say no to bras. Not only are you being coerced to comply, but you need to pay for the bra, too, and for the mammograms, etc. It’s your body! Take control!
Yes, I am talking culturally necessary. The mammogram thing… I’ve only been coerced once a very long time ago. When I speak of culturally necessary, I mean specifically financially necessary, which also plays a big role in health (but we can talk about this later) . These are the specific situations when a woman is coerced into wearing a bra especially when she has larger breasts… a job interview, a bank loan officer interview, many corporate in office job situations. Meetings with investors, lawyers etc. if a woman isn’t “put together” there are financial ramifications and bras are sadly necessities. I wish it were different but this is the sad reality.
There are ways to manage your breast appearance that don’t constrict or compress them. Let me know if you want information about that. Having large breasts should not mean you have to be uncomfortable physically.
Thank you greatly for all the posts on breast cancer! My BRCA- mother has had it twice and both my grandma and her sister died from same.
I refuse bras and Mammograms which can be as equally dangerous as bras I believe! I’m not going to follow them, I’ve refused bras my entire life so that’s taking down a great risk!
Thank you again!
That’s great to hear that you refused bras all your life. My guess is that you have healthy, pain-free breasts. Not using bras is even more important for women with BRCA gene issues. Thanks for connecting.
Are you familiar with or have any info on Hoshimotos, elevated TPOab and gluten? My OB who is an MD but so knowledgeable in natural medicine has brought this issue to my attention. She has said there’s an 80% likelihood of breast cancer in those with elevated TPOab who consume Gluten.
I’m on a low dose med to drop the TPOab and also doing acupuncture for my Thyroid to drop my elevated TPOab. I’m trying to avoid gluten but that can be challenging.
You need to see my article about the thyroid and its link to the voice. I posted it early on here on substack, and few people saw it. I will repost it soon. Here is the article. Let’s discuss it after you check it out. https://theculturedoctor.substack.com/p/your-voice-and-your-thyroid-health
I am just reading your article on stimulating the thyroid with your vocal cords! I can’t believe all I’m learning. Are there any books where I can read more on this?
Thank you so much!
It’s my own theory, with only one study being done on this, on tissue culture. But otherwise, it’s new.
Thank you for your response! I love the following you. Are you on any other platforms other than sub stack?