Can reductions in bra band pressure increase comfort during exercise in lumpectomy patients?

Breast cancer is a prevalent, life-impacting disease. With increasing incidence rates and a growing number of survivors, greater efforts must be directed towards improving the physical functioning and quality of life (QoL) of women living with a diagnosis of breast cancer. Although exercise interventions have been reported to provide these benefits, without the development of adverse events. many impediments to exercise exist (Rogers, 2007). While several psychosocial or physical capacity impediments to exercise have been investigated, a recent study found that a substantial proportion (70.3%) of women living with a breast cancer diagnosis reported experiencing bra discomfort during exercise (Gho, 2007). Furthermore, bra band "tightness" was an acute cause of this discomfort, particularly for lumpectomy patients. For this reason there exists an urgent need to determine whether it is possible to modify the bra band for post-lumpectomy patients to reduce their exercise-induced breast discomfort caused by band tightness. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether an innovative bra modification could reduce bra band pressure, and therein the uncomfortable bra band "tightness", experienced by lumpectomy patients.