The question of what to wear
iwearitwell.com has an answer for chemotherapy patients
BY EVAN WILLIAMS ewilliams@florida-weekly.com

From left to right, Sylvia Kelly, Peggy Hoban and cancer survivor Kelly Henderson, founders of iwearitwell.com.

Fort Myers resident Kelly Henderson was diagnosed with breast cancer in October, 2006. Soon after, chemotherapy and radiation treatments began. Out of many challenges, one of the most demoralizing things was losing her hair.

"We were driving around looking for wigs, and her hair was coming out," said Peggy Hoban, Henderson's aunt. "She said 'What am I going to do with it,' and I said, 'Roll down the window and throw it out.'"

On Christmas morning, 2006, Henderson finally shaved her head completely. A profile of the outline of Henderson's head with no hair, wearing a periwinkle colored head wrap, is now the logo of her new business, iwearitwell.com. The company sells color-coordinated outfits made especially for chemo patients and their families: shirts, head wraps and other accessories made with a sense of fashion and comfort in mind.

But when Henderson was undergoing chemo, the last thing on her mind was what to wear. In the face of feeling horrible, with the radiation treatments causing her hair to fall out in large, distressing gobs, even picking matching outfits in the morning became an unreachable goal.

"I didn't wanna wear that hot, god-awful wig that looked fake," Henderson said.

Hoban had an idea though.

"My Aunt Peggy had made me scarves she brought over in different colors," she said.

Henderson liked this solution to her hair loss. It was practical, no nonsense. And besides, the colorful scarves she wore around her head made her feel better; they were a bright, hopeful contrast to a patient's fear, discouragement and shame.

"When I would go to get chemo you'd notice right away, the people, especially women, were trying to hide the fact that they were going through this battle, wearing dark colors, ball caps," Henderson said. "It became very apparent, the struggle of getting up in the morning and putting on something that makes you feel good."

So Henderson, her long-time friend Sylvia Kelly and Hoban, conspired together to help other chemo patients with the question of "What to wear?" During Henderson's treatments, a network of friends had often provided moral support, meals and other things, but that fashion query was mostly left unanswered.

"By the end of my treatment we started looking at shirts," Henderson said. "We spent a lot of time looking for something that's comfortable…and bright colors, not the dull grays and black, but pastel, limegreen."

Just about one year to the Christmas Day when Henderson shaved her head, the three women took a trip to the fabric district in New York for further inspiration. Henderson's cancer had by then gone into remission her treatments ended in May 2007).

They chose eight colors in all, long-sleeve, short-sleeve and jewelry to match. Shirts start at $27.95, headwraps at $17.97 and earrings at $18.95; matching ensembles are also available.

The night before iwearitwell.com appeared on the internet (March 7), Henderson and Kelly were in the upstairs room of Henderson's South Fort Myers home, which serves as an office and product storage age facility. It w was one of many late nights fussing the kink kinks out of this project, and soon it was early morning. An e-mail came from a woman who had started chemo two weeks ago, had heard abou about the site, and it was just the optio option she'd been looking for. Hend Henderson said e-mails like this are eno enormously redemptive.

Hend Henderson plans to determine a perce percentage of sales to donate to canc cancer research, and participate in fundraising activities with th the American Cancer Society ety and the Susan G. Komen Br Breast Cancer Foundation.

"It It's amazing how many good things have come out of having cancer," she said. "…It just made me realize that family is the most important - especially my kids. We all rush through life so fast it seems like."

Henderson lives with her husband, Craig Pisaris-Henderson. They have two children, Chase, 11 and Chance, 5.

Since her cancer went into remission, Henderson said she's also been a little more patient with her husband, paid less attention to "the to-do list," and is more conscious of day-to-day health, diet and exercise.

Soon, iwearitwell.com will introduce a children's line, she said, with colors like camouflage. It may also offer extras like pillows, pajamas and a "chemo bag," which will include a collection of items - water bottle, notepads - that might come in handy while waiting for treatments.

"This is just another practical way of helping," Henderson said. "This is more of something you can actually use and help you get through your day."