By LOIS KINDLE
Thanks to Carol Denise’s enthusiastic advocacy for breast cancer patients, a satellite retail and resource center of A New You, Pink Boutique is opening at the Sun Towers Rehabilitation Center.
The shop will carry an array of breast cancer apparel, including a zip-front, post-surgical camisole with drain management; breast prostheses; wigs; mastectomy bras; pocketed swimwear; shapers; and more. And customers will receive pre- and post-mastectomy consultation and support throughout their lives.
Debbie Caneen, Sun Towers admissions director, helped make A New You, Pink Boutique possible. The breast survivor is seen here with some of the breast cancer apparel available at the new shop. It will also be selling lymphedema sleeves and stockings, including custom measurements for those who need them.
The Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act is a federal law that provides protections to patients who choose to have breast reconstruction in connection with a mastectomy and other post-mastectomy benefits, including off-the shelf prostheses.
And anyone who needs financial assistance due to high insurance deductibles or plans with no local coverage can apply through Denise’s nonprofit organization, Lisa’s Pink Petals of Hope.
Vicky Kosky, a speech language pathologist and Sun Towers director of rehabilitation, is thrilled to have Denise on board to help breast cancer patients.
She had bilateral breast cancer surgery and reconstructive surgery in April and August of 2011.
“After my first surgery, I was unaware that any of this existed,” Kosky said, referring to retail and support services for mastectomy patients. “Nobody told me about this stuff. I became aware of Carol and her shop in Brandon, only after I had a revision of my reconstruction surgery in January this year. I went there to get a post-surgical camisole.
“Now women can come here instead of having to drive all that way or shop online,” she said. “Finding a place where you can feel the product and get measured by someone who knows what she’s doing makes you feel so at ease.”
Debbie Caneen, Sun Towers director of admissions, agrees.
“I had a lumpectomy for a large cancerous cyst in 2012 and was treated with radiation afterwards. I wish I had known about [Denise’s] supportive services at the time,” she said. “While going through treatment, I certainly could have used a special bra to accommodate the radiation device implanted in my breast.
Lois Kindle Photos
Vicky Kosky, director of Sun Towers Rehabilitation, left, and Carol Denise, owner of A New You, Pink Boutique, invite all pre- and post-mastectomy patients to visit the new satellite shop at the rehab center. The retail and resource location is a partnership between the two companies.
“We are so blessed to be able to share this resource with the community, which will soon include lymphedema stockings for men and women,” Caneen continued. “To my knowledge there’s nothing like it in the South Shore area.”
Denise left the corporate world to go into advocacy after her older sister Lisa was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011. As a result of Lisa’s experience, both pre- and post-surgery, Denise became a certified life coach, found a variety of products, birthed a brochure and opened A New You, Pink Boutique that same year at 106 W. Robinson St., Brandon. After Lisa died in 2013, she founded Pink Petals of Hope.
The boutique offered a place for ladies to gather and develop a sense of community for any kind of breast cancer surgery to support them through their journeys,” Denise said. “I wanted to direct and help women navigate life after surgery or those with breast abnormalities of any kind.
“Since then, I’ve kept seeing the need and expanding my vision,” she said.
Denise’s younger sister Shanta was also diagnosed in 2011, had bilateral surgery, but is now in remission.
A New You, Pink Boutique collaborates with Moffitt Cancer Center, Florida Cancer and HCA Florida Brandon Hospital, HCA Florida South Shore Hospital and a host of surgeons and oncologists.
The satellite shop will open May 16 at Sun Towers Rehabilitation, 101 Trinity Lakes Drive, Sun City Center. It will be open on Mondays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Accepted insurance includes Medicare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, United Healthcare, Aetna, Tricare, CarePlus and more.
For more information, email anupinkboutique.com or call 813-661-7465.
