Hi Viv,

 I’m not sure what the situation is in Ireland. Here in the UK the NHS will put pockets in 2 bras per year. You can get others done privately at a cost of roughly £8 or £9 per pocket. Unfortunately, I have had a double mastectomy so I need to double the cost for each bra.

I believe that Marks and Spencer and Asda sell post-surgery bras (with pockets), but only in their online shops. There are a number of mail order companies who can supply post-surgery bras too. You will find these if you google them. They include companies such as Nicola Jane, Anita, Amoena, Royce, Trulife to name but a few. Incidentally, these companies also supply swimwear if you are looking for it too.

If you are handy with a needle and thread you can also buy pockets and sew these into any supportive non-pocketed bra. Your breast cancer nurse should be able to point you in the right direction if there are any local shops who supply these bras. I have found M&S Total Support bras to give the best support . I used to be able to buy them in the larger stores pre=pocketed, but since they are only supplying online now, they seem to be frequently out of stock. I therefore buy the ordinary Total Support and get the pockets added retrospectively.

Are you in touch with any other breast cancer warriors - perhaps they can tell you where you can source these bras locally?

It always amazes me that with so many people affected by breast cancer now, that there are so few companies catering for us.

I am sorry that you have had such a hard time, but am glad to hear that you are now moving on and hope that you have no need for further treatment for quite some time.

Kind regards.

Jolamine xx