THE STORY
In February 2018, our founder was preparing for the trip of a lifetime - Pyeongchang, South Korea to watch the winter Olympics, then snowboarding in Niseko Japan. About 2 weeks prior to leaving, she found a very hard, very obvious lump in her right breast while doing a self exam in the shower. Because her trip was upon her and there was no canceling at that point, she put off getting anything checked until her return. Upon returning home, she finally started the arduous journey of tests, doctors appointments, tests, blood work, tests, and more tests. She finally received the results - HER2 positive invasive ductal carcinoma. Simply, she had breast cancer.
The recommended treatment for this type of breast cancer is neoadjuvant chemotherapy, then surgery (lumpectomy or mastectomy). Her doctors had her scheduled to begin chemotherapy right away. She finally began the next arduous journey of chemotherapy in May 2018, 3 months after the initial finding of the lump.
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What ensued was the largest outpouring of love she had ever experienced. From her inner circle to complete strangers, she was gifted with what she considered comfort and care from just about every person she encountered. Gifts came from everywhere. One gift was extra special. Her husband's boss at the time was a breast cancer survivor and when they heard of her diagnosis, they put together a comprehensive gift basket of the most helpful items. It was something she didn't even realize she needed until she received it.
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During chemotherapy treatments, she met so many women from all different walks of life. Some women with immeasurable support. Others with none whatsoever. She couldn't help but think about how a gift basket filled with items of comfort could be so useful to every woman battling breast cancer. And show them that they're not alone, that someone out there cares about them, and understands exactly what they're going through. From there, the idea for Comfort Crates was born. Each one contains a plethora of items to help combat some of the more common side effects brought on by chemotherapy treatments. Each one is curated with love.
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Thankfully, after a year of chemo and immunotherapy treatments, a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction, she is now in remission but there’s still an astounding number of women being diagnosed with different types of breast cancer every single day. The mission is to help them get through this difficult time with a little bit of comfort, show them that they have support when they need it, and give them hope that remission is possible.
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Hence, The Remissionaries.
