An Organization With Meaning!

By Anita Eisner

After receiving the devastating news, in 2006, that she had breast cancer, Kelly Henderson made the conscious decision to let her disease have a meaning. At the age of 44, a wife and mother of two young boys, hearing her doctor's words, "I don't believe I am having to tell you this, but you have infiltrating ductal carcinoma", was a moment Kelly would never forget. Kelly tells me, "I sat on my living room floor, put my head in my hands and sobbed. After the initial shock, I knew I had to put on my happy mom face and fight for my life."

Following my lumpectomy, I started chemotherapy, so losing my hair was inevitable. Christmas morning 2006, I asked my husband to shave my head as I couldn't watch it fall out anymore. It was a physical and emotional challenge. I was advised to buy a costly wig, which was uncomfortable and looked fake, so I searched for other options. With the help of my Aunt Peggy, we came up with a solution to help me feel like a whole person again while eliminating one of the daily concerns of what to wear. We created a color coordinated outfit for every day of the week consisting of head wraps, shirts and accessories.

Immediately, friends and doctors commented on how well I looked. At an all time low in my life, mentally drained and emotionally fatigued, we discovered a way to help me feel good about myself which helped me fight this horrible disease. Now, my dream is to help other women cope with the physical and emotional challenges of hair loss by looking good and feeling better about themselves while also contributing to research to fight cancer, there being the creation of iwearitwell.com. I am passionate about what we are doing and I am proud to be a member of the "survivors" club.

At a recent gathering at the Pisaris-Henderson home, Kelly announced the launch of her new company. She handed out T-shirts with the logo for iwearitwell.com to every guest. She is also planning to be present at the upcoming Susan G. Komen race for the cure on March 15th, scheduled to be held at Coconut Point Mall. Kelly tells me that she and her team (her Aunt, Peggy Hoban, in Orlando and her best friend, Sylvia Kelly, here in Fort Myers) are targeting the oncologist's offices and chemotherapy centers to help in the launch of this meaningful endeavor. I recently visited Kelly in her home and was able to preview some of the coordinating shirts, head wraps and earrings that are currently available. She and her team have big dreams and goals for this very worthy cause.

Please visit www.iwearitwell.com for more information.