When a woman beats breast cancer, she deserves to feel sexy and powerful.

Breast cancer is, tragically, all too common.

It’s estimated that 15,270 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year; that 2,700 will lose their lives to this disease in 2014 alone.

And for ‘survivors’, the fight doesn’t really end.

For women who have survived breast cancer through the surgical removal of a breast, there are new challenges. Women often face pressure to have reconstructive surgery, or are made to feel like they’re not ‘normal’. They are made to feel like, because they have had a breast removed, they are somehow less feminine. Less of a woman.

And after literally fighting for their lives and finally having a body that is theirs again, women should not have to feel ashamed of the skin they are in.

And that’s why one woman decided to design a bikini for her new body – after having a mastectomy – that would still make her feel proud, sexy and powerful.

Elina Halttunen, along with two other designers, has developed a line of swimwear that they hope will make women who have had mastectomies feel more comfortable in their own bodies.

“The idea of Monokini 2.0 was born out of a need for clothing down as much as possible during a persistent heat wave. Having only one breast made finding fitting bikinis difficult, therefore I fashioned my own Monokini,” Elina explains.

“Having done that, I thought that maybe there would be others out there like me, women who wanted swimwear that would not make them feel that they were missing a breast. Besides, being one-breasted creates great possibilities for cool swimwear design.”

They made samples of each design and now they want to make these swimsuits more widely available for ALL women who have had a mastectomy.

To support their efforts once the crowd-funding page opens on May 30, visit their website here.

Please share this post to help raise awareness for Monokini 2.0. Because all women deserve to feel comfortable in their skin.