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Women’s Health Boutique: Styling Plano's Cancer Survivors

Working at a cancer recovery salon like Women’s Health Boutique makes my days so meaningful.
Womens Health Boutique Cancer Plano

Working at a cancer recovery salon like Women’s Health Boutique makes my days so meaningful. Formerly called All About You, a friend had told me about the boutique and when I visited, I felt comfortable being in a private room and having the assistance of a knowledgeable and sympathetic recovery specialist. I bought a wig that looked much like my highlighted blonde hair, and my girlfriend, who came along for support, bought me a red wig just for fun—and surprisingly, it was fun!

Wigs

I always advise women to come in before they start chemo, so we can see their natural hair and can find a wig that is similar. Women are usually apprehensive, but once we start trying on wigs, things get easier. We exchange stories and discuss the benefits of synthetic hair, its easy care and the no-fuss hairstyle. Soon, the customer is relieved and sometimes loves her new hair better than her natural hair.

One woman who was recently diagnosed came into the boutiques saying she was going to cry through the whole thing, but she left saying, “I never knew I would have so much fun looking at wigs, and I didn’t even cry!”

I also helped a 9-year-old girl with alopecia, a different type of hair loss. She had been wearing a ball cap for most of her life and she just wanted to have regular hair. When we were done, she said to her sister, “Now I look like you!”

Womens Health Boutique Cancer Plano

Compression/Lymphedema

We fit people with post-surgical camisoles and other compression garments and sleeves. I have had lymphedema since the removal of 18 lymph nodes under my right arm. To keep my arm from swelling, I have worn a compression sleeve for the last 8 years. It can be painful, but by finding the right garment (and lymphedema therapy), it can improve the quality of your life…and somehow I have made it fashionable!

Bras/Breast Prostheses

The Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act not only provides insurance coverage for reconstruction to balance a woman’s appearance, but also covers prostheses, if a woman opts not to have reconstruction. If a woman has had a mastectomy, most insurances, including Medicare, cover a leisure prosthesis (every six months), a silicone prosthesis (every two years), and approximately eight new bras a year. We also carry partial prostheses to balance out a lumpectomy and other issues with reconstruction. We can also customize breast prosthesis to fit the shape of a woman’s chest wall. This is done with a computerized 3-D scan of the chest, including the remaining breast, so the prosthesis can fit snug up against the chest wall and closely match the size and shape of the other breast. Women are so excited when they find a proper fit and the right bra!

Much More than a Boutique

Womens Health Boutique Cancer Plano

Quite often when a customer leaves the boutique, the visit ends in a hug and I love this. I feel like we are connected. I am proud of the work we do here: It’s about restoring balance, feeling cared for, feeling normal, and feeling like a woman again. Remember how I said when you lose a part of yourself, more of yourself is revealed and exposed? Your genuine, inner beauty shines through when you love others.

Women’s Health Boutique

Women’s Health Boutique is open Monday–Friday from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. You can find Jody at Women’s Health Boutique on Tuesdays and some Thursdays and Saturdays.

3115 Parker #270, Plano, Texas (Northwest corner of Independence and Parker)
972.985.4477 | whbplano.com | [email protected]