PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Ellen Maynard of Caribou said recently that she can still recall the day she headed to Aroostook Orthotics and Prosthetics in Presque Isle to shop for mastectomy bras.
After a more than year long battle with breast cancer when she was 52-years-old that required chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, she was not sure if anything available at the time would assist her.
“Admittedly, I was still pretty depressed,” she said. “I was really just going at the insistence of a friend who knew the services they had to offer. I really wasn’t that into it.”
She said she was “really surprised” to see all of the choices available to breast cancer survivors, including prosthetics, and post-mastectomy and after-breast surgery bras.
“It is amazing to see the amount of products out there now that are available to survivors,” she said.
That is something that Donna Gallant, board certified orthotist, pedorthist and mastectomy fitter at the Caribou company, said on recently that she hears often.She said the company has stayed busy over the years, caring for countless breast cancer survivors.
“More younger women are being diagnosed with breast cancer, which is sad,” she said. “But they can detect the cancer sooner, which is nice.”
Gallant said that prosthetic fitting is part art and part science.
“We look at the chest wall and see where there is tissue missing and how much,” she said. “It determines the shape of the prosthetic. There are many different kinds of prosthetics and many mastectomy bras on the market so that survivors have many choices.”
She said that mastectomy bras now come in a wide variety of fabrics, colors, styles and design options and are designed to restore both a woman’s natural silhouette and level of confidence.
“What is great too is that there are also camisoles available, which a lot of women like,” she said. “That especially helps if they have undergone radiation and have sore spots on their skin that a bra would irritate.”
Gallant said she always listens to her customers and tries to find what works best for them.
“When I get a suggestion from a woman, I take it right back to the company,” she said. “They are always interested in hearing suggestions because they want to please their clients.”
Maynard, who is now three years into her journey surviving breast cancer, said on Monday that she believes prosthetics will continue to evolve in the future.
“I am really pleased to think about that,” she said.
