A woman who has lost a breast to cancer may feel the need to undergo cosmetic surgery or wear prostheses to adjust to the loss. There is nothing wrong with this response.
But some women may take a different approach. Elina, the model pictured above, is more open about her experience:
I do not want to hide, I do not want to stop swimming, I do not want to undergo extensive plastic surgery operations, and I do not want to be forced to use the uncomfortable prosthesis on the beach. I want to feel as free and active as I did before my cancer . . . .
That's why she and several other women are participating in the Monokini 2.0 project. This is a line of swimwear developed by several Finnish fashion designers aimed specifically at the needs of women who have lost a breast to cancer. Elina Halttunen conceived of it as a practical response to her own needs:
The idea of Monokini 2.0 was born out of a need for clothing down as much as possible during a persistent heat wave. Having only one breast made finding fitting bikinis difficult, therefore I fashioned my own Monokini. Having done that, I thought that maybe there would be others out there like me, women who wanted swimwear that would not make them feel that they were missing a breast. Besides, being one-breasted creates great possibilities for cool swimwear design.
-via Daily of the Day