Fw: Cancer Survivors Get Breast Prosthesis

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From: " ilena rose " <ilena@...>

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Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2002 7:28 PM

Subject: Cancer Survivors Get Breast Prosthesis

> ~~~ Thanks much to <Fuchssey@...> for this important

> information. ~~~

>

>

> http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/333/8012/349989

>

> Cancer Survivors Get Breast Prosthesis

>

> May 13, 2002

>

> GEORGETOWN, Ky. (AP) -- Terry Ferguson often wept as he watched his wife

> cope with the loss of a breast to cancer.

>

> Frances Ferguson put on a brave face, as he knew she would, but inside she

> was changing. She was not the same happy-go-lucky woman he knew and loved

> before her left breast was removed to save her life in October 2000.

>

> Little things seemed to upset her the most, like finding clothes that

would

> look right on her imbalanced chest when she wanted to work out or dress up

> for a night on the town.

>

> His weathered face still reddens when he recalls the anger and disgust

that

> swept over him as he walked into a prosthetic shop with her in an attempt

> to restore some of her pride.

>

> " It was appalling, really, " said Ferguson, a town orthodontist. " The

> prosthetics were like cold sacks of silicone that you just plop into a

> hole. They were about the most depressing things you'd ever see.

>

> " That very moment, I decided I was going to go home and reinvent the

wheel. "

>

> Six months later, Terry Ferguson wept again. This time, however, the tears

> were prompted by joy as he saw his wife's vitality return in an instant

> after presenting her with a new, custom-fit prosthetic breast.

>

> " Life changed for me from the minute I put it on, " said Frances Ferguson,

> 48. " I cried as I stood there and looked at myself in the mirror.

>

> " It looked so real that I called my daughter to come down and see it. I

was

> wearing a sheer bra, and when she first came into the room she couldn't

> tell which was which from about 10 feet away. Then we both stood there

> crying together. "

>

> Terry Ferguson's gift of love - now called the Radiant Image custom breast

> prosthesis - gave renewed hope and vigor to a woman he'd adored for nearly

> 20 years.

>

> Soon, his wife was insisting that he share the gift with the other 1.4

> million American women who wear breast forms.

>

> " I never even thought about marketing it, " he said. " All I wanted to do

was

> create something that would bring my wife back to me and give her the

> confidence to start living her life again.

>

> " But it wasn't more than a few days before she told me that I had the

> ability to change the lives of women who had been feeling like she had and

> make them feel whole again. "

>

> The custom prosthesis is an idea that is long overdue, said Dr.

> McGrath, director of the University of Kentucky's Comprehensive Breast

Care

> Center.

>

> " It's sort of been a neglected area for years, " said McGrath, who saw the

> prosthesis during a presentation on the product. " It's dramatically

> different. The concept is so simple and makes so much sense. "

>

> The prosthesis is custom built - molded from an impression of a remaining

> breast if there is one - and fit to each woman's particular

specifications,

> including size, shape and color of the remaining breast.

>

> It is made of a unique patent-pending silicone foam core which Ferguson

> perfected after many years creating retainers and other oral appliances

for

> his patients. It is light and cool yet waterproof and can be worn while

> exercising, swimming or sitting in a hot tub.

>

> " The hardest part was developing a core material that would literally

> simulate breast tissue weight-wise, " he said. " Once I was able to do that,

> the aesthetic part really just fell into place. "

>

> It can be held firm against the chest with or without adhesive and worn

> with or without a bra. Frances Ferguson has worn it with everything from a

> bathing suit to a formal, strapless dress.

>

> " There's really no situation where I'm not comfortable wearing it, " she

said.

>

> The prosthesis is available only through VDK Turning Point in Lexington

but

> soon will be available in prosthetics shops in Kentucky and Tennessee and,

> eventually, nationwide.

>

> " We've had about 30 women wear the prosthesis and have gotten hundreds of

> calls through word of mouth alone, " said Lois Ferguson, chief marketing

> officer for Radiant Impressions.

>

> " A typical breast prosthesis costs between $350 and $500, while the other

> custom prosthesis on the market runs about $3,800, " she said. " This one

> costs between $950 and $1,100 depending on the size. "

>

> Elaine Greer says that's a small price to pay for the way it makes cancer

> survivors feel. As director of chaplains at Lexington's Central Baptist

> Hospital, Greer counsels women struggling with the ravaging effects of

> breast cancer.

>

> She's also a 41/2-year cancer survivor herself who lost both of her

breasts

> to a bilateral mastectomy in 1997.

>

> " I've always been an extremely confident and positive person, so wearing

> the heavy old prosthesis was no big deal to me, " said Greer, who met the

> Fergusons while Frances was undergoing her surgery. " I was just so happy

to

> be alive. "

>

> Terry Ferguson asked if she would allow him to make her a pair to wear for

> several days and then let him know what, if any, changes the design

needed.

>

> " Quite honestly, I thought to myself, 'Is this guy crazy?' But I figured I

> owed it to my patients to find out about any kind of new product they

might

> be interested in, " she said.

>

> " When I saw them for the first time, I was absolutely speechless. You just

> can't believe what you are seeing. And then seeing them on my body ...

it's

> a joy you just can't explain. "

>

> Greer said the prosthesis allows a woman to feel normal again.

>

> " It sounds funny to say this out loud, but I never dreamed I'd ever have a

> nipple again, " she said with a laugh. " I mean, your arm brushes up against

> your chest and there it is - like it was never gone.

>

> " I never thought I'd ever feel comfortable going into 's Secret or

> Dillards again to look for and try on bras. After a mastectomy, you feel

> like a patient, not a woman. Now, bra shopping is something I look forward

> to more than just about anything. "

>

> That, Terry Ferguson says, makes him feel almost as proud as seeing his

> wife thrive as she did before the cancer changed both of their lives.

>

> " I just knew in my heart there had to be something better out there for

> Frances, " he said. " When I saw the dramatic change it made in her, it was

> only logical to try to make it available for the masses. "

>

> Radiant Impressions can be reached via e-mail:

info(at)radiantimpressions.com

>

>

>

>

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