Sav-Rite Home Care helping breast cancer patients feel more comfortable with unique mastectomy suite

Each year, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. This is a time for promoting the importance of the battle against this dreaded disease, and also for celebrating the lives of those who have struggled personally with it.

At Sav-Rite Home Care of Corbin, co-owner Karen Hubbs (along with husband, Kyle) is proud to offer breast cancer patients the very best in mastectomy supply services with their very own mastectomy suite.

“We moved to our new location a couple of years ago,” Hubbs said of Sav-Rite’s new home off of North US Hwy. 25E. “We had a very small room at our old location that we used for fittings. It was crowded, so when we built the new building one of the things that we wanted to include was a larger room that was more welcoming, where patients could come in and bring their family members if they wanted.”

Although Sav-Rite helps its customers with a wide range of medical needs, Hubbs said that being able to make breast cancer patients feel more comfortable has taken on a special kind of importance.

“I think that we all know someone who either has it, or has had it,” Hubbs said of the effect that breast cancer has on our community. “It is very personal for many of us, and we’re very passionate about it.”

Speaking again about the mastectomy suite, Hubbs said, “We didn’t want this room to feel like a clinical setting. We want this to be somewhere where patients can feel welcomed, and where they can bring in members of their families for emotional support as they pick out a fashionable article of clothing.”

Hubbs said that the majority of breast cancer patients who have visited Sav-Rite in recent years have had nothing but good things to say about the store’s new-and-improved mastectomy suite. And as for who has the most one-on-one time with those patients, that would be Dianne Painter, a certified fitter of mastectomy products.

“We have a large selection of bras that look just like normal bras,” said Painter, who is herself a breast cancer survivor after undergoing a double mastectomy. “We try to make this experience as pleasant as possible. I’m a survivor myself, so I am able to give them my take on things.”

Painter said of the process of being fitted for a mastectomy product, “After the surgery, and after the patient is healed, they are ready to wear a prosthesis. The breast forms are made from either foam or silicone, and they fit inside a pocket in the bra. We fit them so that everything will appear symmetrical.”

Painter also commented that certain forms are made using small plastic beads to allow for physical activity, including swimming.

“We have many different styles and sizes,” she said of the garments themselves. “There is a large selection, so most of the time we are going to be able to fit a patient with something that both looks and feels good.”

Painter explained that, in many cases, a particular style of mastectomy bra may also be accompanied with a matching bottom garment, assuming that is something that is important to the patient.

In the spirit of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Hubbs and Painter encouraged ladies to perform regular self-examinations while at home. Also, they advised going in for regular mammograms as soon as a doctor deems it necessary, keeping in mind that family history could be a good indicator of increased risk.

A pink Breast Cancer Awareness tree is currently on display inside Sav-Rite Home Care. Hubbs said that anyone in the community is welcome to come in and add the name of a friend or family member to this tree. It can be in remembrance of someone who has lost a battle with breast cancer, someone who is currently struggling with it, or someone who was able to overcome the disease.