This August, we are celebrating TWO fierce women, Kara and Kristin, sisters and the founders of braGGs. Both women have transformed their personal and family struggles into motivation. They are reconstructing bras for reconstructed women.
Fierce women are those women whose beauty comes from their determination to change the world with each choice they make in life. Every moment, every breath these women take, they do for others. And “others” is a large number.
About 1 in 8 women (about 12%) will develop breast cancer in the course of their lifetime. Breast cancer is the 2nd most commonly diagnosed cancer among women and its death rates are the 2nd highest.
Breast cancer patients often lose their breasts and afterward, have a difficult time feeling womanly since femininity is closely tied to our biology.
For these women, the issue isn’t simply feeling attractive – the issue is how to feel normal. The challenge is to ensure that being a survivor or “previvor” does not define one’s daily life or attitude after surgery.
Kara and Kristin faced this challenge themselves.
Their Story-
The sisters’ mother passed away at 39, leaving two young daughters and grieving family behind. Then, shortly after Kara’s 35th birthday, she tested positive for a mutation of the BRCA1 gene. A tumor suppressor, this gene when mutated, indicates high susceptibility to developing breast and ovarian cancer. For the sisters, the risk of developing breast cancer was 90% and ovarian, 50%.
Both had hysterectomies, double mastectomies and then reconstructive breast surgery in order to return their bodies to “normal.” But they didn’t. Even after consulting a mastectomy bra fitting specialist, Kristin was given explants (prosthetic inserts) to wear inside her bra.
“We just wanted to get up and put on a regular bra – no inserts. We just wanted nice, pretty bras that would have a natural contour. Like we had before,” says Kara. “We wanted something to help us feel more “normal” again.”
But like so many other women, even reconstruction did not help these sisters feel normal. Finding hundreds of women who felt the same way, and after conducting their own research, the sisters recognized a need, a solution, and a market niche.
Their solution is a bra designed specifically to create natural contours and to fit all sizes and shapes of reconstructed breasts. And not only will it come in fun colors and lace, it will have special, customized messages inside!
Their Project-
The challenge they face in producing these wonderful bras is funding. Having invested thousands of their own, they’re looking for community support to all those women who understand the plight of breast cancer survivors.
In order to raise awareness about their project and receive funding, they turned to a crowdfunding platform designed specifically for health projects – MedStartr.
Crowdfunding means that individuals use their wallets to vote and support projects. Empowered individuals themselves drive innovation and change circumstances instead of being helpless to fix things.
MedStartr is a website where innovators post and describe their projects and anyone interested can donate money towards the projects’ funding goals. Donors receive rewards (ranging from T-shirts to free trials) based on how much money they give (anything upwards from $1). You can view braGGs’ project on the MedStartr website here.
Grabbing a chance to interview Kara and Kristin, we asked them about their inspiration, challenges and goals. Here are some of their answers:
Who in your life would you describe as a fierce woman and why?
Kristin: Kara. She never complains, never backs down, and always thinks beyond the present. She takes trial drug after trial drug knowing that if other women had not done the same, she would not have the treatments available she has had. With each moment and each breath, she believes wholeheartedly in living beyond breast cancer and reconstruction.
Kara: Any and every woman who has had breast cancer. As she navigates her way through breast cancer treatment facing the real possibility that her life will be much shorter than she imagined, each breath of her life is a blessing and a moment she will treasure. She wants to change the world with her choices.
Some will succeed in doing so while others will not be afforded the luxury of time to see those choices through. Each day is a battle and a gift.
What is the most important message you would like to relay?
Whether through treatment or just making your way through your day, moving forward can be difficult but is necessary. Even in the toughest times, know there is a purpose and you can get through it and live again … a new normal. We are sisters in this thing called cancer, reconstruction and choose to live positively and help others when and where we can.
What are the challenges you face and your ultimate goals with this project?
Our biggest challenge is that we are creating a new market niche because women don’t know to look for something that hasn’t existed before. So, getting the word out to breast cancer survivors and previvors is crucial and a big part of our current challenge!
Our ultimate goal is to use part of the money we are hoping to raise to start a new foundation to help women discover their options when diagnosed with breast cancer. Many women don’t know what their options might be (treatment possibilities, clinical trials with new, emerging drugs, integrative therapies, diet, exercise) or that they have options. Our ultimate goal is to help women make informed decisions that are the best for them and their families.
For those of us interested in donating, how does your rewards system work?
Our reward system offers a little something for everyone. Survivors and supporters can support our project by pre-ordering two different styles (“everyday” and “demi”) of braGGs bras at a heavily discounted price. Boutiques and image recovery centers can support us by ordering a “distributor pack” which is priced at a great discount to make retail margins worthwhile.
braGGs bras also have a hidden message of inspiration inside – a message of love and hope to help women JUST KEEP WALKING! One reward is the rights to work with us to design a custom hidden message for a line of our bras. This Partner Reward is great for groups like LiveStrong or Komen.
At Maxim, another woman-owned initiative, we aim to support fierce women who are bettering the world. We help in our own way by providing organic feminine hygiene products for women who are concerned about getting TSS or are sensitive to chemicals.
Every man, woman, and child can do something great and support initiatives such as the braGGs bra project. Visit the MedStartr platform and be inspired; help change the world.
To get in touch with Kara or Kristin or to find out more, visit:
www.braggsonline.com
Twitter: @braggsonline
Facebook: braGGs – black logo
Pintrest: braGGsonline (under people)
www.MedStartr.com
Kara@braggsonline.com
Kristin@braggsonline.com