Breast Cancer Survivor Creates ‘Pink Perfect Nipples’ To Give Women A Sense Of Wholeness
Breast Cancer Survivor
Many breast cancer survivors feel they cannot face their spouses for fear of being exposed. They feel their femininity has been taken away from them by the disease. To give women a sense of wholeness, one breast cancer survivor created the “Pink Perfect nipples”. The company produces silicone adhesive nipples that are applied to cancer survivors’ breasts after reconstruction surgeries.
The adhesive nipples are carefully crafted by Michelle Kolath-Arbel, owner and CEO of Pink Perfect, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010. Arbel then underwent a lateral (one-sided) mastectomy, leaving a zipper-like scar across her breast.
Following a mastectomy, patients go through reconstruction surgery, as surgeons use the “origami technique” to rearrange the skin and create a protruding nipple. Arbel opted for several prosthesis options but was not pleased with what was available on the market. That’s why she started manufacturing them by herself. Realizing her prosthesis appealed to many breast cancer survivors, Kolath-Arbel started manufacturing and marketing them from her home in Kfar Saba, Israel, two years ago.
Since then, Pink Perfect changed the lives of 200 Israeli breast cancer survivors – and more worldwide – as they leave behind their scars.
“I felt like a guy”
After her reconstructive surgery, Arbel had breast implants, but no nipples. “In the breast cancer survivor community, we call them `Barbie breasts,’ a breast with no nipple,” Arbel explains.
That’s why she was seeking artificial nipple reconstruction surgery. Awaiting approval for the second surgery, Arbel was browsing a magazine at the doctor’s office, as her eyes caught a nude female celebrity. However, her breasts weren’t completely exposed; they were covered in stars. “At that point, I realized that what made them breasts were the nipples,” Arbel recalls.
[youtube=youtu.be/ReWQ0U7LYiA&w=520&h=315]
This article was first published on NoCamels – Israeli Innovation News and was re-posted with permission.
To continue reading this article on the site, Click Here.
Breast Cancer Survivor
