x
Breaking News
More () »

Shop in North Carolina serves women with breast cancer

Having a mastectomy can be a life-changing experience, but one North Carolina woman is hoping to give women battling breast cancer a sense of normalcy.

MOYOCK, N.C. — The Pink Ribbon Resource Center sells products for women who’ve had mastectomies.

Owner Kim Twine is a certified mastectomy fitter. She opened her shop one month ago.

“This, for example, is one of the breast prosthesis or breast forms,” Twine said, showing off her products. “My mom is definitely the reason I do this.”

Her mother, Joyce Twine, had a mastectomy 31 years ago after doctors diagnosed her with breast cancer.

“I just went in for a regular mammogram check and the doctor saw something he didn’t like,” Joyce said. “My dad had bone cancer, and when the doctor diagnosed me, I saw what my dad had gone through and I said, 'I don’t want that, so just take it all out of my body.'”

RELATED: Virginia among the best states for mammogram screening rates, according to study

Back then, places like the Pink Ribbon Resource Center didn’t exist.

“There was really no place to go that had what’s offered here," Joyce said. "People just kept it quiet, it was not brought out in the open, which I think is important because women need to know – and men get breast cancer also – that there are other women going through the same journey.”

Kim said women are used to going to lingerie shops or department stores, but if you’ve had a mastectomy, you might not find what you need. So you’ll have to go to a doctor’s office or medical supply store.

RELATED: New drugs show rare promise against aggressive breast cancer

“Many of these women that are faced with going to shop for a bra at basically a doctor's office or a pharmacy or something," Kim said. “If you go to some of the other locations in the area where you might find these products, you might be working with somebody who just helped somebody find a blood pressure cuff or a shoe insert. But this is what we do.”

Twine said her shop is more of a boutique than a medical shop.

For women like her mother who had to make a brave decision, Kim Twine hopes her shop can offer a sense of normalcy for women going through a life-changing experience.

“I prayed about it and God was with me, so 31 years later, I’m here," Joyce said.

You can find the Pink Ribbon Resource Center at:

113 Baxter Lane
Moyock, NC 27958

Call 252.435.2776 to schedule a private consultation and fitting.

Before You Leave, Check This Out