I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer – I turned my trauma into success by creating mastectomy swimwear

A BREAST crab subsister has utilized her traumatic wellness acquisition to physique a palmy business, selling mastectomy swimwear.

Melanie Luxton-Brookes, 47, was diagnosed with signifier 3 breast cancer successful 2017 aft uncovering a lump successful her near breast.

She swiftly underwent a afloat mastectomy and bosom reconstruction, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

The pursuing year, erstwhile successful remission, Melanie and her husband, Bruce, 57, decided to spell abroad, and she started looking for mastectomy swimwear.

This is designed to beryllium much comfy and supportive than regular swimwear for women who person had bosom surgery, often with armholes to conceal scars and built-in pockets to clasp bosom forms.

Unable to find garments that were some applicable and fashionable, Melanie noticed a spread successful the marketplace and launched Lady Survivors, an online, stylish and affordable swimwear marque suitable for women post-mastectomy.

She said: "I was truthful excited to spell connected vacation backmost successful 2018, but I couldn't find suitable swimwear - I was gutted; everyone should consciousness seen done fashion.

"We are inactive a tiny business, and I'm moving connected expanding it - but the feedback I get from women who person fallen successful emotion with the garments - and themselves - ne'er fails to marque maine emotional.

"Wearing a swimsuit tin beryllium stressful capable aft a mastectomy, truthful I privation to assistance others navigate it and consciousness comfy and confident."

Melanie's travel aligns with probe by Virgin Money, which reveals the apical triggers for small business owners to instrumentality the leap, including longing for work-life equilibrium (30 per cent) and wanting a much flexible docket (29 per cent), portion 12 per cent capitalised connected spotting a spread successful the marketplace for a product.

The probe of 500 radical who person started their ain tiny concern besides revealed 84 per cent of entrepreneurs enactment upon their 'trigger' wrong 12 months of having the idea, with 35 per cent mounting up wrong a month.

And 33 per cent judge their mental health has been amended since doing so, and 32 per cent besides said their finances and wellness person improved.

Interestingly, 36 per cent started their ain concern with little than £500 saved to bash so, with 16 per cent of those establishing their institution with thing successful the bank.

After taking the leap, 54 per cent said they could ne'er spell backmost to moving for idiosyncratic other again, and 87 per cent accidental they are satisfied with their determination to tally their ain business, according to the OnePoll.com data.

Oladele Ajaui, 40, from London, turned the devastating trigger of redundancy successful 2017 into an accidental to retrain from a financier to a plumber.

The father-of-two was near "shocked and worried" but soon decided to instrumentality the accidental to research a antithetic enactment of work.

Although Oladele went to assemblage to prosecute a vocation successful finance, helium ever felt drawn toward moving successful a commercialized to "make a nonstop interaction connected people's lives".

Following redundancy, helium took a fast-track plumbing course, learning the tricks of the trade, and successful 2018, started Deka Plumbing, which had a turnover of much than £400,000 past year.

Oladele said: "Being made redundant near maine feeling deflated, but thing wrong maine knew that this was conscionable redirection.

"I saw it arsenic an accidental to yet prosecute thing I was genuinely passionate astir - starting my ain concern allowed maine to harvester my passionateness for plumbing with the entrepreneurial tone I had developed during my clip successful the firm world.

"It was a risk, but it's been 1 of the astir fulfilling decisions I've ever made; beingness arsenic my ain brag has been incredibly liberating.

"I person the state to acceptable my ain schedule, which gives maine much flexibility to walk clip with my household and beryllium contiguous for important moments."

Oladele isn't unsocial successful appreciating the benefits of being his ain boss. In fact, 69 per cent of those polled agreed that their work-life equilibrium has improved since starting their ain business.

However, erstwhile it comes to tracking their finances, 1 successful 5 (19 per cent) don't judge their concern receives capable enactment from their bank.

And erstwhile asked what'd assistance most, online and mobile banking and fee-free accounts were said to beryllium astir desired.

To enactment entrepreneurs similar Melanie and Oladele, Virgin Money's 'M Account for Business' has been designed to assistance those starting their ain concern - offering nary monthly fees, escaped day-to-day integer banking and cashback connected debit paper purchases.

Simon Norman, caput of concern slope astatine Virgin Money, said: "Our probe shows that astir entrepreneurs don't look backmost aft starting their ain business.

"Melanie and Oladele's stories item the resilience and creativity of tiny concern owners and that portion determination are galore idiosyncratic triggers to starting your ain business, assurance plays a large role.

"We privation to enactment radical who are pursuing their concern dreams, by backing their assurance and giving them each the tools to fto them absorption connected realising their ambition - and our relationship is designed with that successful mind."