Media
April 2012. Compassionate Beauty featured as mastectomy "experts" in Ask Rita column.
Ask Rita: “...I know no one who’s had a breast removed [and] have never spoken with anyone else about this issue...”
We were recently featured in Calgary Herald’s “ask Rita” column when she reached out to us to get some information about mastectomy-wear. Sincerely hope this woman was able to get the products she needs and in the process, find some other women to talk to! Here is a copy of the column below:
Q: I had a mastectomy a few years ago and find the specialty bras designed to hold breast gels in place often ride up — at times the gels have even slipped out. I also find it very uncomfortable to have the gels lay against scar tissue for more than three hours at a time. I’m fairly thin, so I just go braless most of the time, but need something for dressier occasions. As I know no one who’s had a breast removed I have never spoken with anyone else about this issue. Do you have any suggestions?
A: I took your question to an expert, Saundra Shapiro, founder of Compassionate Beauty. This is an incredible shop and online resource for cancer patients and their friends and family.
Shapiro thinks there’s a chance you were improperly measured. Or the mastectomy bra you are wearing might be an older style, as she’s never known gels to pop out of the bras she sells. She recommends looking into “the new and improved world of mastectomy lingerie, because things really have changed.”
You might also want to look into mastectomy clothing, which comes in a range of styles from dressy to casual. It gives you the option of inserting the breast prosthesis into a pocket in the shelf bra of a tank top or T-shirt.
With regards to the gel laying on the scar tissue, Shapiro says having a barrier between the breast form and scar tissue could make a big difference. There are many forms on the market and a concave one might be better for you, as it wouldn’t irritate the tissue. (Compassionate Beauty carries all sorts of forms, including heat wicking, lightweight, and athletic and leisure forms.)
She recommends a consultation with a certified mastectomy fitter who would work with you to find a prosthesis that would be comfortable to wear throughout the day.
I think you’ll be as impressed as I was with the services and products Compassionate Beauty offers. Check out their website, compassionatebeauty.com, or call them at 403-686-6936 . (I was told the client co-ordinator who answers the phone has had a bilateral mastectomy herself and would be happy to talk with you.)
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Do you have a style question for Rita? E-mail it to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ." data-mce-href="mailto: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ."> This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Read more: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Rita+Where+find+quality+suit+grad/6400365/story.html#ixzz1rN7sFYHk
February 2012. Global TV Calgary features Compassionate Beauty as we gear up to take our services across the country.
February 2012. Shaw TV Calgary visits us to meet Peggy Gibbenus, breast cancer survivor and Client Coordinator at Compassionate Beauty.
Cancer Treatment Centers of America join forces with Compassionate Beauty™ to offer cancer patients the best in care and services. Click on the link to read Spring Issue s10-outer.pdf
May 2, 2010,Compassionate Beauty™ earns their 5 survivor award. The five year anniversary is a milestone that every cancer patient anxiously waits for; it is at this time that a patient officially becomes a survivor. For the patient, their family, and their friends this is a time for celebration, and appreciation. Families and loved ones can take a deep breath and know that the scares, tears, and false alarms of the past 5 years are behind them. They have fought hard and beaten the odds and can now begin a new chapter under the new title of ‘survivor’.
The five year anniversary is a milestone that every small business works towards as well. According to business statistics, 80% of small businesses fail to see their five year anniversary; this number is even higher within businesses that specialize to a target market. Nevertheless, May 2, 2010 marked the five year anniversary of Compassionate Beauty. For us this anniversary is monumental as well; we have beaten the odds and may now be considered a survivor. Now, for the last six years, we at Compassionate Beauty™, have been helping women deal with the many devastating side effects of their surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, and May 2 our survivor status will mean we will be able to help that many more women in the years to come.
Our days at Compassionate Beauty™ have been filled creating a variety of heartwarming relationships not just with patients themselves, but also with fellow care givers, doctors, nurses, nurse navigators, pre-op clinicians, and the many others who have directed their energies to those battling this vicious disease.
Every day we are both humbled and inspired by these incredible women who walk through our doors determined to maintain their dignity, self-confidence and sense of normalcy through the rollercoaster of treatment. Being able to provide them with a variety of products and services to aid in their journey such as breast prosthesis, wigs, and post surgical garments help them to aesthetically feel better, while our specialized spa helps women feel better makes our days so rewarding.
There have been many lessons learned over the last six years, however, the most prevalent of those lessons for us has been that in the face of crisis, disease, and the unknown we all want to love and be loved, as well as, to be respected and appreciated.
One wise woman taught us how to hug. She said “people aren’t hugging properly; you have to line up heart to heart.” We tried it, she was right; most huggers are not heart centered. But when cancer enters your life, you learn a lot about friends, relationship and hugging.
We recognize that each woman comes with her own story, her own experience and her own wisdom. One of our clients refers to her experience with cancer as an adventure rather than a journey. When asked why, she wisely explained that journey is something that is planned, unlike an adventure where you never know what you will find ahead.
Knowing that each day someone’s mother, daughter, sister or best friend is walking through our doors makes me so proud and grateful that we have achieved survivor status, and will continue to be able to help more women in the years to come.
The date May 2nd, for those that do not know the story of Compassionate Beauty™, is also bitter sweet as it would have been my best friend Louise's birthday. Louise, my childhood best friend, was diagnosed with recurrent cervical cancer; it was during her last year that the concept of Compassionate Beauty™ really evolved.
Louise and I would have spent the day together, laughing, sharing, eating of course, and reminiscing about our days as kids, teenagers, mothers, wives and daughters to parents that are still friends. Like the past six May 2nd’s without her, I will hug my daughter a little tighter, and unlock the doors of Compassionate Beauty™ knowing that she is always with me.
Together forever, never apart. Maybe in distance, but never in heart.
Loss is what opened my mind to the need of a center to help women through cancer treatment, but love is what led to Compassionate Beauty™ being a truly giving, understanding center committed to make the day-to-day lives of those living with the side effects of cancer a little easier.
PLEASE HELP US TELL MORE WOMEN WE ARE HERE FOR THEM, THAT BEING DIAGNOSED WITH CANCER DOESN’T MEAN YOU NECESSARILY HAVE TO LOSE CONTROL OVER WHO YOU ARE!
Goodyear cancer center's salon helps patients build confidence. Eli Arnold, The Arizona Republic. October 3, 2009
A unique salon at Goodyear's Cancer Treatment Centers of America hospital is helping patients regain a piece of their identity.
To help women feel more like themselves following mastectomies, hysterectomies and chemotherapy, Compassionate Beauty provides wigs, breast forms, undergarments and pampering such as facials.
"There's totally different needs that people don't know," said Saundra Shapiro, owner and founder of the Calgary, Canada-based company.
One service is mobile pedicure, provided to patients during chemotherapy infusion.
"It's just not a salon, it's just so much more than that," said patient Becky Caverly.
In February, the 54-year-old Pinetop woman came to CTCA in Goodyear for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Today, she is in remission but suffers from a blood ailment that causes swelling in her feet, hands and throat.
She spends two weeks at the hospital every two months. Ongoing chemotherapy is keeping her symptoms at bay.
At the hospital, Caverly uses Compassionate Beauty's morning make-up service. Looking good...
Cronkite News. October 29, 2009
Cronkite News reporter Heather Turner tells us how one Goodyear, Arizona salon is really catering to its cancer patients.
Beauty Blooms: Helping women adjust to a new 'normal'. Jennifer McDougall, Calgary Herald Neighbours. November 20, 2008
Patsy had a single mastectomy seven years ago. In preparation for anniversary cruise with her husband this year, she sought advice from staff at Compassionate Beauty.
They guided her in choosing a new bathing suit and a bra with a lace inset to make it look like a camisole.
"It beautifully covers up the cleavage that I no longer have. It works perfectly under my made-to-measure evening gown," she says.
Patsy also purchased a new prosthesis that can be worn with or without a bra. The protective backing, when removed, reveals a sticky side that attaches,to the place where her breast used to be.
Patsy took this breast form on her vacation and surprised her husband. While he has always been supportive and reassuring, he loves what it has done for Patsy's confidence.
"This little detail drastically improved the way I feel about myself in the bedroom," Patsy says.
"Our cruise was extra-special, because I could feel sexy again, like I had not felt in over seven years. The kind ladies at Compassionate Beauty really helped me adjust my 'new normal'. I wish it had been available earlier."
Re: "Beauty blooms: Helping women adjust to a new 'normal,' ". November 20, 2008
What you print does make a difference. We were honoured when the Herald Neighbours section published a lengthy article about our centre, Compassionate Beauty. You gave it amazing coverage and placement. My staff and I couldn't be prouder. Survivors have been calling for days, thrilled there is a centre designed to meet all their needs. We have had many new wig appointments and breast cancer survivors asking about our "stick-on breasts. "We are excited to know the article reached so many people who now have a place they can find shelter.
I want to share an incredible phone call I received after the article appeared. A woman asked if she could purchase a gift certificate. What she asked next was a question I will hold dear all my life. She said she knew no one going through cancer treatment to whom she could give the gift card. But, she had read the article and was touched how we are caring for women experiencing such a rough time. She asked if we could give the gift card to the next woman walking into the store. She talked about it being the perfect gift for Christmas.
Kindness is all around us. We have learned the one gift cancer survivors always talk about, is the unconditional kindness they find themselves surrounded with.
Saundra Shapiro,
Global TV. July 25, 2007
Breast cancer patients often say part of their recovery is striving to feel normal again -- that includes looking normal. Alison Wattie was pleasantly surprised, when she had to shop for a breast form after a mastectomy last year...
Nadia Moharib, Calgary Sun. July 23, 2006
Ultimate Warriors. Stories of loss, pain ... courage and hope.
Nothing says you have cancer like the shaved head.
That's why it is such an emotional milestone for many women undergoing treatment, says Saundra Shapiro.
"It clearly says I have cancer. It's like this big defining moment," she says.
"Up until then, you can skirt it, you can deny it -- well, now it stares you in the face in the bathroom mirror."
Medical experts do what they do and Shapiro, owner of Compassionate Beauty at 22 Richard Way S.W., a spa and boutique that has everything from wigs to a private mastectomy room where women can be fitted with breast forms and special bras, tries to put the person back together, to get them in to a better head-space, so to speak.
Some bring their husband or their children for moral support.
Others make it ceremonial and some turn it into a party.
There is often champagne, laughter and tears as the hair falls to the floor.
Shapiro turns the client away from the mirror when the clippers come out, trying to make it all as painless as possible.
She does a buzz-cut, and often a scalp massage, before placing a wig on the woman's head and offering a tissue before turning them around to see the transformation.
"We know they have a nice good cry by themselves when they go home, but in this room, they get some dignity," she says.
"This is a safe haven." That's what Shapiro's business, catering to women being treated for or recovering from cancer, is all about.
It was inspired by Giah, a friend who was being treated for ovarian cancer, and that difficult day when Shapiro offered to shave her head.
It opened on the birthday of Shapiro's best friend, Louise, who died of cervical cancer in 2004 but long shared the dream for just such a special place.
Shapiro, who was herself diagnosed with a cancerous skin lesion on her face, said the idea is to offer pampering rather than pity. "It's like this whole new world no one should be in," she says of cancer.
After cancer tears their life apart and at times ravages their body, Shapiro starts her work.
"You put yourself back together," she says.
"If your family sees you with make-up and a smile, they have more hope and less fear ... at a restaurant, the waiter asks how you like your meat cooked, not what treatment you are on."
"It's so important not to scream 'I'm going through chemotherapy, I'm sick, I'm dying,' " she says.
"It's so important they end up looking beautiful, with breasts, without breasts, they should have lace, they should have sex." She says the quest is to try to find so-called normal for the women and often if "a person feels better on the outside, that gives them hope on the inside and helps their healing," she says.
"Not everyone dies anymore of cancer," Shapiro adds.
"It's like this year they have to heal themselves."
And as tough as it is, Shapiro loves her job. "My parents did not want me to do this at all and my mother would cry every time someone left, it would break her heart," she says. "Then she saw someone hug me and say 'thank you.' "
"It's not all sadness," she says. "I see people's smiles, their hair growing back and I see the ones who make it
As for the head shaving, it's something Shapiro offers for free. "How could I charge for it?" she asks.
"It's the most horrible thing. There is no way I can charge for it."
Canada AM, CTV. November 29, 2005
A special video segment covered by Dr. Marla on CTV's Canada Am. This video requires Adobe Flash Player, if you dont have it you can get it here.
Karen van Kampen, Calgary Herald. July 06, 2005
Compassionate Beauty is an oasis within the city. A chandelier casts a warm glow across women relaxing on a powder pink sofa.
Global Calgary. April 28, 2005
Battling cancer can rob a woman of her energy, her spirit and her sense of control. Medicine can treat her disease, but when a woman looks in the mirror, she may not even recognize herself.
Now, a new Calgary store is offering female cancer patients everything they might need or want to better help them deal with cancer...
