No woman ever wants to hear those words, “you have breast cancer”.   Although it does affect some men, it is primarily a disease that affects women.  When a woman makes the decision to have a mastectomy, or has no choice but to undergo this life-changing and life-saving surgery, it can be a devastating experience.   For those who survive, the question of beauty, self-worth and sexuality always come to mind.

There is a group of women who want to change that with a new project that promises to deliver stylish swimwear for survivors of breast cancer.  Monokini 2.0 is a new brand of swimwear that is aiming to challenge our ideas of beauty while making breast cancer survivors feel beautiful and sexy.  The project was inspired by Elina Halttunen, a breast cancer survivor who now only has one breast.  “I do not want to hide, I do not want to stop swimming,” she said. “I do not want to undergo extensive plastic surgery….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, and I am pretty sure that there are others out there like me.”  The creative directors of the project are Finnish artists known as the Nutty Tarts and they are using social media to promote the brand as well as their fundraising campaign through Kickstarter.  The tagline for the brand is, “Who says you need two?” and is like a play on words for the fact many are left with only one breast or none at all after extensive treatment.

“We want to incite a positive self-image of breast-operated women by showing that you can be whole, beautiful and sexy even with just one breast or with no breasts at all. “

The artists are hoping to create an entire collection available for any woman who wants to be free to wear a swimsuit regardless of the scars of breast cancer.  The Kickstarter campaign was launched on May 30, 2014 with the goal to raise $55,000 to fund the project. The funding period runs until June 29th.

Watch their Kickstarter video here: CLICK HERE

Visit the website HERE www.monokini2.com