Comfort for cancer patients

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http://www.wyomingnews.com/news/more.asp?StoryID=107927 Comfort for cancer patients By Frazerrep8@...Published in the Wyoming Tribune-Eagle CHEYENNE - On the one hand, it could be alarming. There are so many breast cancer patients in the Capital City that they can support an entire store? But on second look, it's probably a good thing: Breast cancer patients have a store of their own to help with what is, admittedly, a sensitive process. Given that about 300 women in Wyoming are diagnosed with breast cancer every year, there is certainly a potential market. Hannah Imbrogno is the co-proprietor of Dynamic Women, located on Drive off of East Lincolnway. It's the new incarnation of a store she ran that closed last October called I Am Beautiful. Imbrogno serves women who have had breast cancer by offering breast prostheses, special clothing for cancer patients and vitamins, teas and drinks. "Teas are comforting; aromas are comforting," Imbrogno said. "And that sets an atmosphere for healing." Before her store closed, Imbrogno had about 35 regular clients. Since her store has reopened, she has had about 12, she said. She is planning an open house on July 17. She has had some customers from Fort , Colo., and some from Greeley, Colo. But for a while, she didn't have any customers at all. Last fall, I Am Beautiful closed down after Imbrogno experienced health problems. Dynamic Women opened in May. "We were having doctors call and say, 'We need you. We need

you.' So we decided to open up again," she said. Her store is the only one in Wyoming that offers custom breast prostheses molded to the shape of a woman's body. Before she founded her first business, she used to work for a place with an in-and-out feel for prosthesis fittings. "I wanted to have a place where women could come in and cry," she said, adding that she wanted a place where there are no physicians, no scrubs and no men except husbands. One Cheyenne woman told her she had been fitted in a dressing room in Fort with wires hanging from the ceiling. Imbrogno's dressing room aims more for the cozy feel with a small water fountain and a blanket on the wall. Her store doesn't just serve women who have had breast cancer. Those who have had ruptured implants, damage to their breasts from accidents or who have developed unevenly all can find help. The clothes on sale have special pockets for prostheses or drainage bags. Customer Beverly Schwieger came in just a few weeks after her mastectomy to be fitted. The store has been a wonderful experience, she said. "For a young girl (who has) not gone through this, she listens and she learns," she said of Imbrogno. Working with breast cancer patients could be difficult emotionally, but Imbrogno says she thought about it for a year before deciding to take the plunge. And now that she has done it, she said she has found it can be a positive experience too. She can chat with patients for hours, she added. "When I fitted the first lady, it was amazingly uplifting," she said. "You get to share a lot of things with them they don't share with other people, which is great." Conversations in the fitting room aren't always sunny though. "When they cry, you cry," she said. Her fitting room also stocks tissues.