The Ditching Hour – Breast Cancer

Even though I’ve had a double mastectomy and several other breast surgeries related to my two breast cancers, I haven’t gotten out of wearing brassieres. Yes, although my breasts (what’s left of them) are now tiny, I wear a bra for professional reasons. I teach college students, and I feel more comfortable in a bra during school hours and beyond.

You might be in the same boat. Maybe you’vehad a lumpectomy or a mastectomy and just can’tgive up wearing a bra. Bras are a sign of womanhood (especially when your breasts have been diminished.)

Goodness, for a time, I even wore prostheses in a massive bra with slits in which to slip the rubbery cups, but I never felt comfortable in that get up. I ditched prostheses, much to the dismay of my specialty bra store, years ago. Before I said goodbye to them, they had made a killing off me.

My first bra was a 28 AAA. I got it in third grade at JC Penney. My God, I couldn’t wait to put it on. After we paid for it, I grabbed it out of the box and donned it on my little girl frame. I felt like a true woman.I looked in every mirror as we walked through the department store. Of course, the bra did absolutely nothing, but for me, it was a defining hour. I was growing up.

There’s a time in folklore called the “witching hour.” This is around midnight, or in some schools of thought, between 3:00 AM and 4:00 AM. The witching hour is also known as the “devil’s hour.” This is when supernatural spirits, witches and, yes, the devil appear and work their evil magic.

Well, I would like to coin a term – the “ditching hour.” This is the time of day when your bra turns into the devil, and you must immediately yank it off. You must ditch it. We, as women (and perhaps, men) know of this time. This is the time when you can’t stand your bra for one more second. For me, this is around 7:00 PM. For you, it might be earlier or later.

Remember, having breast cancer doesn’t negate having to wear a bra.

The ditching hour is just part of womanhood, isn’t it?

Maybe the ladies of the 1970s who burned their bras knew something we’ve forgotten. They needed liberation. Bras are tight, constricting, sometimes so much so that they disrupt your breathing, especially at the ditching hour.

I can stand a bra for about 10 hours. After that, it must come off.

This is when the ditching hour comes into play.

Devil, devil go away. Come again some other day.

Like tomorrow.

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