Q. I’m planning for a beach holiday and looking for stylish swimwear designed for women like me who have had a mastectomy after a diagnosis of breast cancer.

A. First of all, we hope you are recovering well and have a wonderful holiday. There are several options that have been recommended to us by women in a similar situation to you.

The most useful resource is the charity Breast Cancer Care. Their website, breastcancercare.org.uk, offers a list of suppliers of bras, prostheses, clothes and swimwear, which are mostly designed specifically for women who have had surgery for breast cancer. 

The charity also tells us that any readers with questions or concerns about swimwear post-mastectomy can call Breast Cancer Care’s expert nurses on 0808-800 6000.

Other brands that come recommended are Nicola Jane (nicolajane.com), a long established company (since 1984) whose staff are known as experts in post-surgery fashion.  Nicola Jane offers a range of 31 options currently, including gorgeous floaty caftan cover-ups.

One friend picked out the multi-national specialist company Anita (anita.com), which has a useful store locator here.

Another woman wrote saying how much she liked the attractive options available at Pink Ribbon Lingerie, a specialist company which offers online and telephone orders (pinkribbonlingerie.co.uk/020-8516 7744) for mastectomy swimwear, also sportswear, lingerie and some pretty summer dresses.

Marks & Spencer offers a small range (six options) of Post Surgery Secret Slimming Swimwear, from £25 online at marksandspencer.com. (By the way, there is no VAT on post surgery products.)

And lastly, just as we were about to press Send on this, a message dropped into our mailbox recommending Flatter Fashion (flatterfashion.co.uk), an ad free, unsponsored website started by a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014 and decided to ‘live flat’.

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