Ford Has Launched a Mastectomy Seat Belt For Free

It’s no secret that getting diagnosed with breast cancer can be life-changing. For some it marks the start of a grueling journey of chemo treatments. For others it means major surgery and a new way of life. But improvements in diagnoses and innovations like a potential vaccine or AI mammography continue to drive hope forward. One of the latest innovations is the mastectomy seatbelt, also known as the SupportBelt from Ford, the brainchild of Lynn Simoncini.

Simoncini, a creative director at VML (a Ford marketing partner), was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in 2022 after a routine screening — a shock to her as someone who stays on top of her appointments. “I wasn’t late. That was the month to have my mammogram and ultrasound,” she tells PS. Simoncini and her doctor quickly assembled a team of experts: a radiologist, oncologist, breast surgeon. At that initial meeting, her team told her she’d need a mastectomy and five months of chemotherapy. She would later undergo 15 additional rounds.

During her journey in browsing support groups on Facebook, Simoncini came across several boards where mastectomy patients were discussing the discomfort of driving post-operation, a hiccup she’d encountered, too. “People were talking about, ‘oh, yeah, I used a stuffed animal, I used a hand towel, I used this and shoved it under the seat belt,'” Simoncini says. “They even shared links of stuff that was on Etsy and Amazon. It all looked really crafty.”

“It was bad enough I didn’t have any hair and I was wearing a baseball cap. I just wanted something fit to my seatbelt and look cool in my car.”

In other words, the items on the market were pretty DIY and didn’t appear natural. Simoncini who grew up on cars in Detroit with a brother in the business wanted to main the integrity of her vehicle. “I didn’t want to put anything in my car that was shouting, ‘Hey, I’ve got cancer.’ It was bad enough I didn’t have any hair and I was wearing a baseball cap. I just wanted something fit to my seatbelt and look cool in my car.”

That’s when she started sketching out ideas and brought them to her boss at VML, who then encouraged her to take it to Ford. “They were all over it,” Simoncini says. Ford’s experience design director Emily Obert jumped in, launched patient interviews and prototypes, and brought in in medical experts for their advice and review. Now, the SupportBelt is here.

The final product, which launches Oct. 1, is designed as a seatbelt accessory made from a soft, breathable foam that fastens to the seatbelt to help relieve pressure and reduce discomfort on a person’s chest while driving. From the soft suede and leather, to the foam interior, “everything is really thought through,” Simoncini says. ‘It feels like a little hug when you have it on your seatbelt.”

This invention isn’t just about comfort. It’s “a safety issue,” says Nayana Dekhne, MD, a breast surgeon for Corewell Health, a Michigan not-for-profit health system that provided medical expertise during the development of the SupportBelt. “Many times patients will tell me that they don’t use the seat belt. They only use the lap belt and they push the seat belt to the back because they are afraid of the pressure on their incision site.”

This is crucial considering that research shows using a lap and shoulder belt can reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passenger car occupants by 45 percent and the risk of moderate-to-critical injury by 50 percent.

“Having a seat belt that patients will perceive, hopefully, as something that’s comforting is a win-win situation in my mind, where we maintain the safety while driving and keep the surgical site clear from any issue,” Dr. Dekhne says. “The bottom line is patients, contrary to what we think, don’t want to announce to the world that they’re undergoing some kind of treatment, [and] this provides that discrete dignity and confidence for patients while driving while maintaining safety.”

The Ford Warriors in Pink SupportBelt™ for Mastectomy Patients ($0) will be available in the US through at least the end of 2024, with first shipments expected by mid-November.

Alexis Jones is the senior health and fitness editor at PS. Her passions and areas of expertise include women’s health and fitness, mental health, racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare, and chronic conditions. Prior to joining PS, she was the senior editor at Health magazine. Her other bylines can be found at Women’s Health, Prevention, Marie Claire, and more.