The Summer I Decided I Don’t Give a F*ck

Four years after my double mastectomy, I finally wore summer dresses — and the world didn't stop to stare

This is the summer I decided I actually CAN wear any dress I want. For 4 years, since my double mastectomy and the subsequent 14 surgeries that followed, I have had varying degrees of discomfort about the way my body looked. I’ve gone from not having breasts, to having expanders, to having failed implants, to now having one breast - and that’s not even counting the scarring and radiation damage. Every single summer, I sit out the flowy dresses with the little straps, and instead choose short sleeves or a high neck. I consider which dress could work with a bra and a prosthetic. Most of the time, I abandon the thought of wearing a dress at all and just wear t-shirts and shorts.