THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 16, 1996 TAG: 9610150106
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: MAKING CENTS: Earning a living in Virginia Beach
SOURCE: BY LORI A. DENNEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 96 lines
Barbara Burrus doesn't think having 1,000 customers is anything to boast about. She's sure every one of them would prefer not to be a client.
Burrus herself hopes that one day there'll be no customers at all.
Burrus owns Pembroke Images, a business that has offered prostheses, wigs and other items used by cancer and breast cancer patients and survivors for 26 years.
``This is such a sensitive business,'' said Burrus, a Norfolk native and College Park resident. ``It really pulls at your heartstrings. We just do our best to make everyone happy.''
The business offers a wide array of bras and prostheses for those who have had single or double mastectomies. The difference in these bras versus a normal bra is a pocket that's sewn inside the cup. The pocket, which opens on the side, holds the prosthesis snugly in place.
The store stocks 20 different styles of bras by three different manufacturers. There are lacy varieties, those that snap in the front or the back and even camisoles that feature the hidden pockets. The garments range in price from $39.95 to $47.95, and the store's busiest bra-buying months are September and March, when bra manufacturers offer customers a 20 percent discount.
Then there are the prostheses themselves. Made of and filled with silicone, the artificial breasts come in many sizes and shapes such as teardrop, natural, classic and triangular. They cost between $195 and $339 apiece, and come with a two-year warranty but often, with gentle soap and water care, last longer, Burrus said.
Longtime employee Candy Earley said, ``You know, nobody asks for this (cancer). This is not a luxury item, it's a necessity.''
Burrus said having the right-sized prosthesis and bra is important to help avoid back and neck pain associated with balance for women who have lost one or both breasts.
When a woman comes into the store for the first time she is ``fitted'' for the prosthesis and bra. The prosthesis is closely matched with a remaining breast or can be any size if there's been a double mastectomy. The fitting usually takes 30 minutes to an hour.
The store also sells a lightweight ``puff'' that's made of material and polyester filling for casual wear around the house for about $20. There are also specially made clear swimsuit prostheses for swimming and specially made bathing suits to fit the prosthesis. The bathing suits at the store are currently half off because they're last year's models.
The store also stocks a wide variety of wash-and-wear wigs, made of synthetic or human hair, ranging in price from $89.95 to $300.
Both Earley and Burrus have traveled to local hospitals to fit chemotherapy patients with wigs and often, they're also called upon to fit children undergoing cancer treatment for wigs. Cancer patients are offered a standard 10 percent discount on wigs.
The women offer a wig-styling service where customers can drop off their wigs and have them restyled and shaped for between $14 and $22.
Neither Burrus nor Earley have breast cancer, although, Earley had a close call a couple of years ago and Burrus' grandmother had breast cancer.
Both women are longtime employees of the business, hired by the store's original owner, Pat Nicholson. Nicholson sold the business to Burrus two years ago.
``I was glad she bought it,'' said Earley. ``This is all we've ever done and we're providing such a needed service.'' MEMO: Pembroke Images is at 332 Constitution Drive in the Kmart Plaza
shopping center. The hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday
and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. The phone number is 497-3186. ILLUSTRATION: Staff photo by CHARLIE MEADS
Barbara Burrus owns Pembroke Images, a business that has offered
prostheses, wigs and other items used by cancer and breast cancer
patients and survivors for 26 years.
Graphic
BREAST CANCER FACTS
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Here are some
breast cancer facts:
More than 180,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in
the United States this year.
Some 44,000 women will die from breast cancer this year.
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in
women. The first is lung cancer.
In Virginia, 4,500 new cases of breast cancer were reported and
there were 1,100 deaths already this year.
Mammograms can detect between 90 percent and 95 percent of
breast cancer.
Over a lifetime, one in eight women will get breast cancer.
The American Cancer Society recommends the following approach
for women to protect themselves against breast cancer: a monthly
breast self- examination, an annual clinical breast examination and
a mammogram by age 40, a mammogram every one to two years for those
between ages 40 and 49, and a yearly mammogram for those 50 and
over.
Information and statistics come courtesy of the American Cancer
Society. by CNB