New business offers kit for self-breast examination
Jamie Inman has been given a second chance at life
– twice. The Hollister resident is a two-time survivor of breast
cancer who since her second diagnosis in 2005 has found herself
driven to teach other women about early detection and
reconstructive surgery.
New business offers kit for self-breast examination
Jamie Inman has been given a second chance at life – twice. The Hollister resident is a two-time survivor of breast cancer who since her second diagnosis in 2005 has found herself driven to teach other women about early detection and reconstructive surgery.
One way Inman is doing that is through her company “Stay in the Pink,” which sells the Plexus Pink Breast Chek, a breast self-examination kit that helps women detect lumps or changes in breast tissue during their monthly self breast exams.
She heard about the product from a woman she met through an online site that offers guidance for women with breast cancer who are considering reconstructive surgery. Inman was serving as a mentor for the woman as she underwent surgery.
“In November, she wrote to me – she’s a nurse – and she said she knew I couldn’t use the [breast chek] because I no longer have breast tissue, but she thought I might want to buy it for my daughters,” Inman said. Inman had all her breast tissue removed in a reconstructive surgery called deep inferior epigastric perforator flap, which moves skin and fat tissue from the lower abdomen and replaces it in the chest area.
Her two daughters are at especially high risk for breast cancer because Inman had it twice, and their paternal grandmother had it, too.
“I had a niece who had a relative who had breast cancer, too,” Inman said.
As she started thinking of all the people she could purchase a kit for, she started thinking more and more about joining the Plexus sales team. The company sells the product only through direct sales – much the same way representatives sell Avon or Tupperware products.
She signed on as a salesperson and by January she decided to turn it into a full-fledged business. Inman talked to another local business woman about whether or not she should get a business license and the woman told her, “Well, is this going to be a hobby or a business?”
“This really is a business wrapped around a mission,” Inman said, who has sold nearly 60 kits since she started.
The kit consists of the breast chek – it looks a little like a deflated ballon made of two thin layers of ultra-thin latex-free polyurethane with a lubricant sealed inside. Approved by the Federal Drug Administration, the device is supposed to make it easier for people to identify lumps or changes in breast tissue than with their bare hands. It also comes with a foil bag to keep it in as well as a booklet that shows methods of examination and a monthly journal.
“Women don’t take breast exams seriously,” Inman said, “though 70 percent of cases are self-or-spouse discovered, but it’s not intentional.”
Inman’s point is that by the time lumps are noticeable, it is usually a later stage of breast cancer.
The five-year survival rate for women diagnosed in stage 0 or stage I of breast cancer is 100 percent according to the American Cancer Society. At stage IIA, when the tumor is still less than 2 cm., but has spread to the lymph nodes, the survival rate declines to 92 percent and goes down from there. Many health officials preach early detection as the best prevention.
“I want to get women to do it as a routine,” Inman said.
Inman is volunteering for Relay for Life – an American Cancer Society event that raises awareness and money – and hopes to get involved as a volunteer liaison through the American Cancer Society for local patients.
In the meantime, her main goal with Stay in the Pink is to get the word out about early detection of breast cancer. She used the Spotlight on Hollister business expo at Veteran’s Memorial Building to get the word out about Plexus and the breast kit. At the event, she had 12 people stop by who said they were interested in signing up to sell the product; 17 were interested in hosting a “pink” party to sell it; and 15 said they wanted to buy it.
“We had so much enthusiasm and I am sure some of it was curiosity,” she said. “I thought people were really impressed.”
Her booth was decked out in pink and she had a large sign that said, “Got breasts? Exam them.”
“It’s been a confirmation that this is well received,” she said. “Some people don’t want to talk about it, but others are embracing it.”
How to buy it:
For women interested in purchasing a Plexus Breast Chek or in signing on as an agent, Jamie Inman can be reached at 801-8941 or by e-mail at [email protected]. Her Web site is www.stayinthepink.com.
Breast exam demonstrations:
www.expertvillage.com/video/51356_breast-exam-when.htm
www.2minutebreastexam.com
