Life After Going Flat with Lisa Taft Sylvester
Lisa Taft Sylvester, founder of Still, shares her experience of life after going flat.
The Choice to Go Flat
After learning she was BRCA2-positive, Lisa chose a risk-reducing mastectomy with flat closure; instead of breast mound reconstruction, her chest was surgically shaped to be smooth and flat.
Although going flat after a mastectomy is not new, a patient-led movement for it gained visibility online in the 2010s. Advocates have pushed for flat closure to be presented as an intentional surgical choice, and in 2020, the National Cancer Institute added aesthetic flat closure (AFC) to its Dictionary of Cancer Terms.
An Opportunity to Explore
Lisa went flat in October 2021. It was the beginning of a journey for her, and the beginning of a different journey for her son, who six months later, got married. Before the big day, Lisa recalls feeling nervous. “I was at a wedding flat in front of family, friends, and strangers for the first time, and I was a little self-conscious about it. And the interesting thing was, either nobody noticed or they just didn’t say anything. It was just such a non-issue.”
Having loved ones who respected and supported her decision meant Lisa could adjust to her new reality without being questioned or judged. For many people, aesthetic flat closure can feel empowering and even open up new possibilities for self-expression and understanding. Lisa discovered just that in her own experience of going flat.
“I just felt I had this level of confidence and strength [...] that I didn’t have before,” she recalls. Lisa began to see herself in unexpected ways, partly through how others saw her. Before surgery, Lisa described herself as large-breasted and of average height and weight. After surgery, “people commented that I looked athletic and that kind of cracked me up because I’m not athletic at all. But it opened my eyes to, like, what else I might be.”
Early moments like these sparked a curiosity in Lisa. She recalls, “It became an opportunity to explore.” She also began to share her story online. She remembers being shirtless in her garden and on the beach, discovering what felt comfortable in different settings. “Whatever rules I had for myself around how I dress or how I am in the world were just kind of broken down.”
Lisa at her son’s wedding, six months after her mastectomy; a milestone in becoming comfortable being visibly flat.
Making Possibilities Visible | Still
Lisa’s curious exploration and expanding understanding of herself started to take shape as she batted around the idea of a project that would, as she puts it, “shift the narrative between breasts and beauty.” The idea solidified after a conversation at the 2024 Walk for CancerCare in Lowell, Massachusetts, where another participant wished for a billboard showing what aesthetic flat closure looks like. Lisa began considering how she could use her design experience to create that visibility.
Eventually, after months of pondering, she says, "my husband finally encouraged me to reach out to creative friends/colleagues, to see if they'd help out.”
So she did. Lisa brought together Bob Packert, Kristie Raymond, and other creatives to bring Still to life, creating a space where people who go flat after a mastectomy, affectionately called flatties, can share personal stories and new forms of self-expression through fashion and portraiture. Bob and Kristie became the photographer and executive producer, respectively, for all three volumes of Still’s Anthology series.
“There are a lot of organizations that are taking beautiful photos of people that have had flat closures, and they tend to trend somber. You know, the hand on the chest, gazing outward [...] Those pictures are real and they’re authentic,” Lisa affirms, recognizing that grief, trauma, and anxiety are all natural responses to a cancer diagnosis followed by surgery.
“But I want to show something different with Still.” Lisa recalls the confidence and bold self-expression she saw in people sharing their experiences of living flat online, the same possibilities she now amplifies through the project. “When you look at those photos and read their stories, there’s no languishing and there’s no despondency. There’s bravery and badassery and confidence and beauty and femininity.”
To Lisa, the work of self-exploration after aesthetic flat closure was significant and transformative. “Does everyone feel that way after a flat closure?” she asks. “No, because we’re all different and we’re all human.”
Confidence in her decision coexisted with grief and loneliness during recovery. She remembers the early rush of well-wishes and visits from friends giving way to quieter days, when others returned to their routines and she was left to heal in solitude.
“I didn’t have the ability to do a lot with my body yet,” she recalls. “I had a second surgery five weeks after my mastectomy, so I had an extended length of healing time, and it was winter and it was dark.”
That solitude was a challenge, but for Lisa, it was also a time that allowed her to reflect on and reconsider the expectations she had about her body and how she moved through the world. Now, years later, through Still, she makes room for others to see what that process can look like, embracing both its difficulties and its possibilities.
Still Anthology V2 Creative Team. Left to Right: Heather McGrath/Photographer, Julie Matos/Fashion Stylist, (seated) Dani Sykes/Lifestyle Photographer, Bob Packert/Portrait Photographer, Michelle McGrath/Hair + Makeup Stylist, Lisa Sylvester/Creative Director, Mark Sylvester/Designer, Nora Sylvester/Interview Lead + Editor, Tom Thrasher/Digital Technician, Hannah Sylvester, Photo Assistant. Not pictured, Kristie Raymond/Executive Producer, Gulnara Niaz/Fashion Assistant
Photographer Bob Packert and Lisa Sylvester reviewing and discussing photos.
Seeing the Difference
Still brings together experiences across ages, body types, and diagnoses, giving people considering aesthetic flat closure a broader picture of life afterward. “We want to give people a really good view of what flat closure can look like, and show why it’s not a second choice. It’s a beautiful first choice.”
Since launching the project, Lisa has heard from people who say Still helped them feel they still mattered. Others say it gave them the confidence to advocate for revision surgery and take a more active role in decisions about their care.
“So I know the work is helping people,” Lisa says, “and that’s motivating, too.”
The Stories Continue
Still Anthology, Vol. 2 continues this work with another collection of portraits and personal stories. Participants speak about identity, grief, sensuality, strength, and the freedom to define themselves, offering others a broader view of what living flat can look and feel like.
This Go Flat Month, we’re sharing these voices through our i love flatties! collaboration. Our bracelet set is another way to wear your support, with 100% of proceeds benefiting Still.
Explore Still Anthology, Vol. 2 and Still’s other publications at project-still.me, and shop the bracelets here.
Still Anthology, Vol. 2 brings together portraits and personal stories exploring life after going flat.
About Lisa
Lisa Taft Sylvester is a graphic designer, BRCA2 previvor, and the founder and creative director of Still. She and her husband, Mark, co-founded Interrobang Design Collaborative in Richmond, Vermont, in 1997. Through Still, she brings together her personal experience and design practice to increase flat visibility and share the diverse experiences of people living flat after mastectomy.
Follow Lisa @sothisisflat and Still @projectstillme.
Lisa Taft Sylvester, graphic designer, BRCA2 previvor, and founder and creative director of Still.