HHP Expert - Syd Singer & Soma Grismaijer, Dressed to Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras

Humarian Health

This week’s show is all about bras! Or rather, the lack thereof. Amy is joined by Humarian’s Community Manager, Christina Conlon, to talk to Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer about their book, "Dressed to Kill: The Link between Breast Cancer and Bras”. Syd and Soma work in the field of “applied medical anthropology” with a focus on how culture and lifestyle can make us sick. Soma begins by sharing her story of finding a lump in her breast and how a prior experience in Fiji led to the idea that constriction from bras could be a potential cause of breast problems. Syd shares new research regarding lymph stasis and how the constriction of bras can exacerbate this issue. They discuss some of the research indicating that women get breast cancer 100 times more than men, but bra-free women have about the same breast cancer rate as men. Soma shares her own experience with transitioning away from wearing a bra and tips for other women to do the same. Syd and Soma also dish about bra companies that have contacted them to consult on newer, less constrictive bra designs based on “Dressed to Kill” and the rise in prominence of less constrictive bras, like wire-free and sports bras. You can find “Dressed to Kill” on amazon.com and wherever books are sold, and you can find more about Syd and Soma’s research at brasandbreastcancer.org.