As posted on Cancer Be Glammed “Survivor Inspired Products” Blog today and under their new Product Picks!
Here’s the Link: http://www.cancerbeglammed.com/product-picks/item/93-fashion-style-and-breast-cancer.html
And a huge Thank You to everyone at Cancer Be Glammed!
Cancer Be Glammed–Survivor Inspired Product Picks
We have found that many of the best recovery products and solutions have been created and produced by people who experienced cancer first-hand. Struggling to find the products they needed or wanted; they went on to create their own. We call these products, “Survivor Inspired.” This guest blog by Maria Lucas, The Co-Founder of Radiant Wrap is the first in our “Survivor Inspired” series which celebrates the ingenuity of these inventors and their desire to help others recover in comfort, dignity and style.
Radiant Wrap
Maria Lucas says “The idea behind Radiant Wrap was to offer women an alternative patient gown to wear during radiation treatments to empower them to feel dignified and secure and maintain their sense of style and fashion.”
My Story
I didn’t grow up a stranger to Breast Cancer. I was eight years old when my mother was first diagnosed. She had a mastectomy, and in the years that followed, she went on to have five reoccurrences, treated by many rounds of radiation and chemotherapy. The one thing I will never forget about my mother is that no matter what, she would never leave the house without looking her best, and never without her lipstick. Yes she was sick, but she sure didn’t have to look that way.
When I turned 50, I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. After two surgeries and a month of healing, I began a six week course of radiation therapy at our local Cancer Center in Napa, CA. I must say, I was treated like a queen. I was given a parking pass, the waiting room had a lending library, large screen TV, and fresh baked cookies, I was even given daffodils on Fridays. No expense or attention to detail was spared. But when I came in for treatment daily, I would go into the changing area, reach in a communal bin and change into a hospital gown; rough, faded cotton, open in the back with half the ties missing, a few tears and holes.
My Aha Moment
So one day it hit me- there had to be something better to wear. Something that didn’t take away my femininity, something that didn’t make me feel sick, something that didn’t remind me every day that I was a cancer patient. So I started to do some research to see what was out there, if anything, that may be an alternative gown for women to wear during radiation. I was unable to find anything specific for Radiation treatments. I talked to the technicians and the doctors about what attributes of the garment were important; openings, accessibility, length and material. On a Friday around the third week of my treatment, I took a few of the standard gowns home with me.
I knew I wanted something that was stylish and flattering, something fashionable. It had to be closed and secure at the back and something that didn’t have cumbersome ties, buttons, Velcro or snaps. I thought if I could cut up these gowns and design a one piece wrap around that tied at the waist, I would have a beautiful alternative gown. And that is exactly what I did. I had a prototype made of my design, and a first run of forty gowns made that June, six months after I was diagnosed and one month after I finished my radiation.
The idea behind Radiant Wrap was to offer women an alternative patient gown to wear during radiation treatments to empower them to feel dignified and secure but mostly to feel beautiful during treatment and maintain their sense of style and fashion. Going through cancer is ugly, but there is no reason not to feel pretty every day. Radiant Wrap is a beautiful alternative to the traditional hospital gown. There is no reason women cannot keep their self- esteem and look fabulous and stylish, no matter what they are facing or being faced with.
Radiant Wrap features
Radiant Wrap has a unique wrap around design which completely covers a woman both back and front, yet I designed it so there is easy access to back and chest areas for treatment and exams. Radiant Wrap is a chic solution to help women go through treatment in style. The wraps are flattering for all women, big and small, and are made in a soft, comfortable 100% polyester charmeuse, a lightweight fabric woven with a satin weave. The wraps are offered in beautiful, seasonal patterns and colors and are very easy to wear; there is no Velcro, zippers, buttons or extraneous ties. Each gown comes with a matching carry bag to make it easy to bring each day to treatment. The unique design and waist sash allows for one size fits most.
We are proud that 18 months after conception, Radiant Wrap is part of the cancer program at twelve Hospitals and Cancer centers nationwide and to date we have provided nearly 1,000 Radiant Wraps to female Cancer patients. We continue to grow and hope that we double the number of partners we have in the next year.
Dignity Health’s Mercy Cancer Centers in Sacramento, CA offer Radiant Wrap to their Cancer patients. One of their Nurse Navigators says “The Center is privileged to have these beautiful, bright women in many different colors moving around our passages and treatment rooms 5 days a week. This has changed the feel of our treatment center. It has encouraged the feel of a team of women journeying together, as opposed to a single patient in a clinical setting receiving treatment. The inspiration to make a difference for each woman on this journey reminds us, as the Navigators, how privileged we are to work with this band of strong and brave women.”
Radiant Wrap has become a successful addition to the Breast Cancer program in these facilities because how women look and feel about themselves is an integral part to their overall psyche, well being and ultimate healing process.
We continually try to align with companies who are very likeminded and founded by other Breast Cancer survivors. We have also just begun a “Pay It Forward” program where we donate Wraps to organizations in order to help them raise funding or to gift to women in need.
We just released our new Fall Patterns, which can be seen on our Shop Page at www.theradiantwrap.com.
I know that Radiant Wrap would have never been conceived if I had not been diagnosed with Breast Cancer. But I also know that we can either let these events ruin us, or we can take the opportunity to turn them around and make something good out of it. This is my chance to give back, to share something with other women who are fighting this disease. I draw inspiration from my mother, who now at eighty years old, still has the most positive attitude of anyone I have ever met, and still wears her lipstick! She has had her share of illness and misfortune, but she never let it take her smile away, and never stopped looking fabulous each and every day. My hope is that every woman out there diagnosed with Breast Cancer and facing Radiation therapy has the opportunity to wear a Radiant Wrap and that it helps to make their treatment time just a bit more stylish!
