Cathy McGrath + Maureen Cardinal
After beating cancer at age 40, Cathy McGrath was determined to add a bit of dignity back into the painful and restrictive treatment. So she asked herself, “What would Jackie Onassis do?”
By Cathy McGrath
When I was 40 years old, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had been going to my OB-GYN for a year, complaining of pain and pressure in my right breast. He assured me that breast cancer is not painful and ot to worry about it. I was sleeping with a bra on becaue the pressure was so iintense. Finally, after my third visit, he did an ultrasound. There was a lump the size of a chickpea. It did not show up on a mommogram. I asked him to schedule a surgery to remove it. I went ot my local Catholic hospital, told my husband to drop me off, and I would page him to pick me up when it was over.
When I woke from this first surgery there were nuns around me praying. I thought I was dreaming. The surgeon said he was very sorry to report it was a very aggressive cancer and when he went to remove it, it scattered. He explained it was like mercury at the bottom of those old thermometers. We met with the hospital oncologist, and he told me and my husband that we should go home and get our affairs in order. We were both in shock and absolutely devastated and petrified. Our lives were literally turned upside down. We had 3 young children ages 7, 9, and 11.
I went into Boston to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to get a second opinion and hopefully a better plan. Which was breast surgery, a chemotherapy clinical trial, and radiation. I had a lumpectomy at Mass General Hospital but they could not get clean margins.
Then I woke from my third surgery at MGH, a mastectomy and reconstruction, with multiple post-surgical drains. These drains are tubes that collect fluid from the body through a clear bulb-like container—often called “grenades” because of their shape—and these drains hang by a few stitches where the surgical incisions were made. These drains are extremely painful and become heavier and more painful as they fill with the fluid coming from inside our bodies. I found it very difficult to manage doing simple tasks and handling the cumbersome tubes at the same time.
I asked the nurse how best to manage these drains. “Go to Home Depot and grab a tool belt,” she said. This seemed absurd to me. “Seriously? No one has thought of anything better to manage these drains?” “No,” she said. “But someone really needs to!”
I thought there needs to be a better way. The loss of dignity and control was devastating enough but wearing these drains around was too much. Plus, if I could figure it out, it would be my giveback to other women battling this disease. As I lay in the hospital bed clicking my morphine clicker, Princess Di popped up on my TV Screen. What would Princess Diana or Jackie Onassis wear if they had to endure this post-mastectomy trauma? There is no way they would be running out to Home Depot for a tool belt. So, the process began.
I sketched a design on a napkin and called my sister. She inherited the domestic gene, she is extremely talented at sewing, cooking and even baking. I do not sew, cannot even do a hem, but I do know style—and what a woman needs after a mastectomy. I explained what I needed her to sew: the sleeves need to open to hide the IV’s and have easy access for a blood pressure cuff, there should be pocketing along the bottom to hold the weight of the drains.
After my makeshift jacket, I went to my aunt, a professional seamstress, and redesigned a classic jacket. My design showed all-around pocketing to hold multiple post-surgical drains and allow for one-handed dressing. I added a drop down button for access to a port-a-cath and used Velcro to reduce the pain involved with getting dressed and to allow for easy access for post-surgery exams. But what my design did best, is restore the dignity and independence that we often take for granted with the seemingly simple task of putting on something pretty when we feel awful.
The product was named ‘Jacki’. No more Johnnie hospital robes (Jackie is a nickname for Johnnie and I also believe we all have a little Jackie Onassis in us!) It was everything the hospital Johnnie is not: incognito and with classic style and multiple custom features for all phases of treatment: surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, and physical therapy.
I had wonderful neighbors. One was a partner for a big Boston law firm. As Betty Hanley Esq. drove me into Boston for treatment, she explained how to file a patent and decided to take on this project pro bono. I filed for a 501c3 non-profit status to be able to give these garments free of charge. Then I met my neighbor/partner/friend Maureen, CEO, Program Director, Jack-of-all-trades, who took charge as we learned every step of this new venture. Maureen Cardinal is the real engine behind our success. I had the vision but Maureen brought it completely to life. My title was chief volunteer and I helped when able, consistently inconsistent.
We went to Polartec in Methuen, MA and presented the Jacki to then-CEO Michael Spillane (we were introduced by a middle school volleyball coach, Tom Holland). Within 10 minutes into the story the CEO said ‘I get it’ and we will donate material to your nonprofit to help produce these garments. We had to learn every aspect of the apparel business right down to the buttons. We also had to learn to write grants to fund the program, mostly to pharmaceutical and medical device companies like Genentech and Boston Scientific, for example.
We were very fortunate to have my old boss, Richard Trussell, come out of retirement as the CFO who ran all the accounting, inventory contracts, and vendors. The word spread and we had many, many people come volunteer. We had friends, family, and local mothers dedicate their time to help in our success; each one brought their talents and specific knowledge: Pam Connelly, Darlene Hall, Joan Johnston, Danielle Flynn, Chris Baker, Casey Cardinal, and over 33 students from North Andover High as well as our own sons and daughters, their friends, and college interns from Merrimack College. It truly did take a village to succeed.
We tested the Jacki in two top Boston hospitals with the help of my cousin, Janet O’Connor, an oncology nurse. The Jacki received rave reviews and took off immediately. The surgeons who operate at more than one hospital often brought them to their patients outside of our test hospitals. Our program, this jacket, ignited a movement! It went from patient to patient, nurse to nurse, doctor to doctor. Dr. Mehra Golshan, then a young breast surgeon at Dana-Farber and now at Yale Cancer Center in Connecticut, said “I cannot express how wonderful this Jacki program is, across all corners the response has been a resounding “Yes” to the Jacki. In treating women with breast cancer, I can say that the dignity and care of my patients is my highest priority. The Jacki has allowed for the women to maintain their dignity during this most difficult of times.”
This is where the the story turns, it is the point where the story is no longer my own. It becomes the story of the 30,000+ incredibly strong, resourceful, amazing women we have helped to get back to daily life. Like the woman who delivered her father’s eulogy in a Jacki just days after her mastectomy. Or the woman who was released from the hospital in her Jacki so she could dance with her son at his wedding. Or the young mom who just wanted to make it to her daughter’s kindergarten open house without carrying around all those drains. Or the grandmother who wore her Jacki so she could get down on the floor and play Thomas the Tank with her 3-year-old grandson.
We know nothing is easy about this cancer diagnosis. Life just seems to get so much more complicated. We who have been through it, know that the mental game is just as hard as the physical game. The guilt, the fear, the anguish, the pain, is insurmountable.
We received hundreds of letters from these incredible women.
Two of my favorites are:
“Having been diagnosed with breast cancer and having surgery, a mastectomy, within 32 days of each other, and 6 hours of travel has been an exhausting, expensive, and emotional experience. I almost did not have time to cry. However, when the breast nurse gave me the Jacki, I broke down and wept. Your gift of the Jacki made me feel like I could go forward. Looking smart, whole, feminine, and like myself. I cannot express my thanks to you enough.” - Beth S., Maine
“Thank you so much for designing such a practical solution to a big problem post breast cancer surgery. When the nurse told me about your program, tears came to my eyes. My body hurt, my heart hurt, and my soul hurt with my diagnosis, and now someone was helping me on the road to recovery. I am a mum of 3 young children, and my diagnosis shook our foundation. Breast cancer surgery recovery is tough with drains etc. Your solution gives women some dignity, fashion, and comfort during a very challenging time. Thank you to you and your sponsors.” -EQ, Massachusetts
Ultimately, our mission is to provide the Jacki free of charge to any woman who has to endure a mastectomy. The small quantities we were manufacturing in East Boston were very costly to produce even with the donated material from Polartec. We then learned of a place that manufactured samples in China. Maureen tackled all that was involved with overseas production, shipping, and communication, and we were able to lower our costs dramatically.
In 2013, we entered the MassChallenge start-up innovation contest, and we met a man who worked for Genzyme who was holding a class on obtaining Medicare health codes. We told him about our breast cancer garment and he said, “Lucky you, a breast cancer health-code is the easiest to obtain since wigs paved the way on emotional quality of life.” This was our “aha!” moment. It was time to do a clinical trial.
We went to Dr. Mehra Golshan and Dr. Margret Duggan, two compassionate and exceptional breast surgeons from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. We joined forces with Dana-Farber and Faulkner Hospital to conduct a 3-year clinical trial. This led us to finally securing the government approval needed for the Medicare insurance code for the Jacki jacket, just like the mastectomy bra and camisole. The clinical trial was spearheaded by Dr. Donna Berry, the Director at Dana-Farber’s Phyllis F. Cantor Center for Research in Nursing and Patient Care Services. The Center conducts research on quality of life and care for cancer patients and families.
Proudly, the Jacki is now available with insurance reimbursement, with a prescription from your doctor or nurse practitioner, just like the bras and camisoles. We needed to spread this great news! Somehow we need it to go viral.
l-r: Maureen Cardinal and Cathy McGrath
Now Maureen and I are in our 60’s. YIKES!! I am most grateful to be here in my 60’s. A true gift given to me by the dedicated, compassionate nurses, surgeons, doctors, and their brilliant expertise at MGH.
We finally accomplished our goal of making the Jacki available to any woman enduring a mastectomy, without financial burden. We owe our success to hundreds of selfless people who volunteered behind the scenes and guided us through each phase of this unending learning curve. We are so honored to help those amazing women and men fighting not only for their lives, but for their lives back. It is an absolute privilege to help make such a difficult and private time just a little easier.
Learn more about The Jacki at www.thejacki.com
