Listen, I am fully aware that it is November and that Breast Cancer Awareness month was October. I intentionally waited to make this post because Breast Cancer and breast health are too big of issues to be restricted to one month. With an estimate of over 260,000 women diagnosed with Breast Cancer this year, it is important to push messages of self-checks and mammograms for early detection and the importance of proper bra fit for prevention year-round. Thanks to specialty shops like LiviRae Lingerie, you can be educated on how the right bra promotes healthier breasts while adding a little more sexiness to your drawer of unmentionables.

Most of my life, I have had a love/hate (more hate than love) relationship with my breast. My breast set me apart from my female peers, caused me to be the butt of jokes, damaged my confidence, oh and did I mention they tried to kill me? Yes, I was 1 in 8 and while my story and diagnosis don’t hold a candle to those of women like Shondia Sabari, Max Devereaux, and other bold and breastless women, it is my truth.

As girls we are taught not to discuss certain things, one being our bodies which is why many women struggle with discussing breast health in any setting that isn’t medical. Honestly, I was well into adulthood before I knew how to exam my breast for lumps and my true bra size. I didn’t know that underboob, top spillage and other situations caused by bras that were too small could affect the health of my breast. Who knew that underwire being positioned wrong could cause scar tissue and other breast damage. Yeah, too small bras are uncomfortable but harmful enough to contribute to breast issues like breast cancer, I didn’t think so but boy was I wrong. It wasn’t until I met the Double Divas from Livi Rae Lingerie that I truly understood the relationship between bra fit and breast health and its importance.

Livi Rae Lingerie is a lingerie boutique that has helped many men and women bring sexy back. Livi Rae Lingerie owners boast over two decades of experience and knowledge in the fields of bra fit and breast health while specializing in mastectomy bras and most of all educating individuals on breast health. Livi Rae Lingerie owners, Cynthia Decker, and Molly Hopkins have traveled the world hosting bra fit events and speaking on different platforms as part of their commitment to breast health. Their passion has placed them In rooms with many doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals. They are currently on the board of I Will Survive, a non-profit that provides economic support, preventative education and health, and wellness resources to breast cancer survivors and their families.

Not only have Cynthia and Molly helped me to understand my breast, but they have also done the same for my daughter and other teenage girls. The ladies are currently working on implementing a teen initiative that will allow them to teach breast health and bra fit in schools around the country. As mother’s Cynthia and Molly understand that prevention begins with education which is why the ladies are working with educators and school system administrators to create a curriculum under the health umbrella that would teach students about proper bras for different activities (sports), how to perform self-checks, bra fitting, and red flags.

We all know that self-care is very important to our growth and development but I’m not sure we understand that caring for our bodies is a vital part of self-care. I also want you to understand that educating our children is just as important as educating ourselves because life happens and age is not a factor. Below you will find a few tips that I learned from the Double Divas that I am sure you can use.

• If you are a cancer survivor who underwent a mastectomy and is having reconstructive surgery or a woman who chooses to enhance her breast; please wear a bra. Breast implants are added weight to the chest wall, if you don’t wear a bra, you run the risk of becoming a member of the droopy boobie community.

• I know a lot of women hate underwire bras especially when the wire begins poking out and stabbing you. The key to underwire bras is proper fit; the wire should always lay flat against your ribcage and never on your breast.

• If you have new boobs, you need new bras! Yeah, I know that bras aren’t cheap but you have to take care of your investment. I mean, would you put regular gas in a Rolls Royce?

• Pushup bras, they are not your friend. I know we all want to show a little cleavage but push up bras can cause indention in breast and encapsulation. Oh, and did you know that an underwire bra can give you just as much cleavage as a pushup bra.

• When trying on new bras to accommodate your new breast remember, your letter will change but your number will remain the same. While it may take a while to figure it all out, know that the letter isn’t important… it is all about the fit!

So yeah, get those boobs checked and serve up a whole lot of sexy with Livi Rae Lingerie. Not located in Georgia or able to get into the store? No worries, call the boutique and schedule a virtual fitting with fit expert Katie. If that isn’t good enough, follow LiviRae Lingerie on IG and catch them at a city near you for one of their bra fit events. However, if all else fails, find a shop similar to LiviRae Lingerie that specializes in breast health and proper fit.