A store in suburban Chicago offers a unique set of services, catering to cancer patients and survivors in a way that many say is hard to find. NBC 5’s Kate Chappell reports.
A store in suburban Chicago offers a unique set of services, catering to cancer patients and survivors in a way that many say is hard to find.
Naturally Yours is a boutique specializing in wig fitting, custom breast prosthetics, mastectomy bras and other post-surgery apparel.
"They make you feel like a million bucks here, they really do," said Diane Harrington-Bowers.
Harrington-Bowers has been shopping at Naturally Yours boutique in Willowbrook since her cancer diagnosis 20 years ago.
"It really shocked me. I thought it was the end of my world," she said.
Harrington-Bowers is in remission now, but she's still able to buy post-surgical, custom bras through Medicaid at the store.
"You come here, and they fit you, make you feel like a woman again. You’ve lost that and it’s very, very helpful," said Harrington-Bowers.
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Sharie Conard opened her first store in St. Joseph, Michigan, 35 years ago after losing her friend to bone cancer.
"Our girls were just 13," said Conard, who was a hairdresser at the time. "There was no place for her to go. She started losing her hair, so I said, 'Come into my salon. I’ll get your head shaved, we’ll get you some caps,' but there was no privacy. It was a regular salon. She got very depressed and never came out of her home again. She passed away just a few months later."
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Conard knew she wanted to help other women through their diagnoses feel like themselves again.
She now operates three boutiques alongside her daughters, Lori Miller and Trisha Roberts, and her granddaughters, in Michigan, Indiana and Chicago.
"My mother-in-law, both of our grandmothers, have all passed away from cancer, and it’s not getting any better. That makes it a passion of ours," said Miller.
"It's kind of unparalleled what we do here. It's not the type of service you find many places," said Roberts. "I don’t think there’s many people that can say they’re untouched by cancer."
According to the Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998, group health plans offering mastectomy coverage must provide coverage for services relating to the surgery, including prostheses.
Naturally Yours said it carries insurance contracts with most major carriers.
Cancer diagnoses in people younger than 50 are on the rise, according to research at Yale Medicine, leading to the need for more personalized care. However, it comes at a time stores like Conard's are closing at an alarming rate.
"About five years ago, there was about 150 [stores] in the US. We’re closer to 50 to 65 left," said Conard, who hopes spreading the word will allow more women the opportunity to seek personal care.
"While your medical team is taking the best possible care of your health, we are here to help you feel good about yourself," the boutique's website reads.
