Cancer patients whose breast tissue is surgically removed will soon start receiving better prostheses after a lobby group complained that the ones available on the national health service are of inferior quality.
Women who undergo a mastectomy are currently being given a hollow rubber prosthesis, which fails to mimic natural breasts and feels like the cup of a thickly-padded bra, unless they pay €24.
According to the Action for Breast Cancer Foundation co-founder Helen Muscat, women who have used the rubber prostheses when they go swimming have had the unpleasant surprise of finding a bulge floating on one side of their torso.
Women have also been embarrassed by the fake breasts: "The rubber prosthesis is too light and the bra tends to ride up when a woman lifts her arm," Ms Muscat said.
Apart from these embarrassing incidents, the unbalanced weight leads to bad posture and shoulder pain. Rubber prostheses also tend to cause women to sweat more.
On the other hand, silicone prostheses give a more realistic image, and look very much like a natural breast. Their weight, which is similar to that of a natural breast, keeps the bra from riding up and helps women maintain good posture.
Rubber prostheses cost €46, just €24 less than the silicone ones which are recommended by most breast cancer centres in Europe. Although women have the option of paying the extra €24 to obtain a silicone prosthesis, the foundation still believes the situation is unacceptable.
"For many women, it will be the first time they are seeing a prosthesis," Ms Muscat said, adding that they would already have gone through the trauma of finding out they were suffering from breast cancer and of having their breast tissue removed.
Figures obtained by The Sunday Times show that 286 women underwent a mastectomy between 2005 and 2008. However, these figures do not include operations carried out in the private sector, with women who have a mastectomy privately still being entitled to free prostheses.
Last April, the foundation aired concerns over the prostheses during a meeting with Health Parliamentary Secretary Joe Cassar, but has not yet received a response.
A spokesman for Dr Cassar said the government was in the process of issuing a tender to switch to silicone prostheses with a two-year guarantee, entitling women to a new prosthetic breast every two years. Women are currently entitled to a new prosthesis every year and 372 were given out last year and 211 this year.
He added, however, that the current practice of women being able to upgrade their prosthesis through payment was similar to the practice used by those who are entitled to free spectacles.