Black women with breast cancer have a 40% higher death rate than white women. Despite this, nothing exists that shows breast cancer on darker skin – until now. Love & Nudes has … read morecreated The Stage Zero Collection, the world’s first breast cancer screening bras for Black women, designed to help them recognise breast cancer’s symptoms even before Stage One of the disease. Designed to draw awareness to and directly address the disparity in the treatment of breast cancer for Black women, the capsule collection of bra inserts visually highlight the various ways breast cancer symptoms can appear in women of colour – consumers can touch, see and feel lumps, peau d’orange (swelling that can indicate inflammatory breast cancer), and unique discolouration on each bra. Created in partnership with McCann Toronto and esteemed breast surgical oncologist Dr. Mojola Omola, The Stage Zero Collection gives awareness education on what it feels like to discover a lump in the breast. Once the team developed the design, they had to 3D print the collection’s parts, and then cast the product’s lumps to mimic what it feels like in real life. After multiple trials and well over a year and a half in production, the team finally got a makeup artist to add the finishing touches to The Stage Zero Collection, and of course one last approval from Dr. Omole. Black women on average start to show symptoms for breast cancer at age 40, but the breast cancer screening age in most Canadian provinces is 50 – so Love & Nudes is starting a movement to lower the screening age and save even more lives. The campaign was unveiled on World Cancer Day (February 4th), during Black History Month, alongside a Stage Zero Collection petition to lower the national screening age. To lend your voice to the petition please visit here.
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