Products aid with recovery
Undergoing difficult procedures like chemotherapy treatments and mastectomies, breast cancer patients can have a number of items to help them feel better.
At the Evans City Pharmacy, certified mastectomy fitter Kelly Graham helps fit prosthetics for women who have had mastectomies and other breast cancer surgeries.
“We do as much as we can,” Graham said.
The pharmacy supplies prosthetic breasts for patients who have full mastectomies. It also can supply partial prosthetics for patients who have had lumpectomies or radiation treatment that left one breast a different size than the other.
All of the bras, tops and swimsuits have pockets for the prosthetics — which are made of silicon — to go in.
The different apparel comes in different colors, sizes and shapes, she said.
About 4 to 6 weeks after surgery, patients usually are ready for the bras. When patients make an appointment with Graham, the first thing she does is educate them about what is available to them.
“I explain all of their options,” said Graham, who serves about 250 customers a year.
She said insurance usually covers one pair of prosthetics every year or two, and about four pieces of clothing per year.
“Most anything is billable to insurance,” she said, except for bathing suits.
She recommends that every patient, before going into surgery, gets a post-surgical camisole, which has a pocket to hold drainage bulbs after surgery. Graham said these make the patients more comfortable.
In the past, bras for mastectomy patients were limited. Today, they come in many varieties, and Graham said the goal is for the patients to feel pretty and confident.
“Now, we want them to feel feminine,” she said.
She had heard of women who had said they had not gone swimming since their surgeries.
“Don't give up on life because of this,” she said.
With chemotherapy treatments causing hair loss for most patients, wigs are a common need for patients with breast cancer and other types of cancer.
Just What the Doctor Ordered in the Hansen Plaza in Butler has a boutique for selling and fitting wigs for cancer patients.
Owner Cate Graham said the store's boutique has 57 to 65 different wigs.
“Pretty much, we can get close to their color,” she said.
She said the store typically asks for people to make appointments, but it will accept walk-ins. She said a scheduled appointment allows the person to have the privacy and attention they would want.
“This is a real sensitive time for a person,” she said.
Typically, fittings take at least an hour. However, if the person needs two hours, retail manager Hannah Tilko said that will be done.
“We never want to rush the appointment,” Tilko said.Sometimes, she said it can take them a long time just to muster the courage to take their head covers or hats off.“There's a lot who feel ... naked without hair,” Tilko said.The average price for basic wigs is about $190.“Typically, most insurances do not pay,” Cate Graham said.She said the store works with Pittsburgh-based Hair Peace Charities — which raises money to help pay for wigs for women and girls with any type of cancer — to help people who need assistance.As far as care, women should use a full wire brush to brush the wigs. Regular hair brushes often have little plastic beads on the end of the bristles which can pull the weave out of the wigs. Tilko said users should not brush the wigs when they are wet, as this can pull the style out of them.Regular shampoo is not good for these wigs. The store sells special shampoo and styling spray for the wigs. They can be washed by hand in a sink, and Graham said it should be done at least once a week.“It's revitalizing the wig,” Cate Graham said.The store does not require a prescription for most people. If someone does have the rare insurance that will pay for a wig, then a prescription is required.Additionally, the store sells turbans, hats and scarves. Tilko said people often wear items like these around the house, during the summer or when going to bed.“It's cool, but it also keeps the head warm,” Tilko said.Besides wig supplies, the store sells over-the-counter lozenges, gels and sprays to help severe dry mouth.Cate Graham said a big side effect of some cancer treatments is dry mouth to the point where patients cannot salivate, which can lead to dental damage. She said newer products provide longer dry-mouth relief.“There's a lot more that goes into it than wigs,” she said of helping cancer patients.
