...Pink Ribbon Lingerie and the shopping experience for women post treatment.
Thirteen years ago, Camille Johnson started Pink Ribbon Lingerie with her mum who had been diagnosed with breast cancer 27 years ago.
Their goal was to make buying lingerie easy and as stress-free as possible for women with breast cancer following surgery.
While Camille worked closely with her customers to help find the right products, she did not imagine that she too would be on a similar path until she discovered an unusual lump in her left breast.
“I had to wait two weeks for my appointment, the mammogram only showed a light shadow. They said if they hadn’t felt a lump, it wouldn’t have concerned them.”
Now that she’s made it through treatment, Camille has used this experience to improve and change her business and says that she is better able to help her customers.
“I have a better perspective and I’ve actually changed some of the things we do in the business like many of our post-surgery bras.”
But she doesn’t make work her entire life. She now lives what she calls the “soft life” and makes sure not to burn the candle at both ends. Taking it easy when she needs to and making sure not to overwhelm herself with too many appointments or tasks several days in a row.
“I won’t book busy days back-to-back. I allow myself time to recover when I need to. I’m still learning to balance my everyday life and I think that has been empowering.”
When asked what Black Women Rising meant to her, Camille answered “Ninety-nine per cent of the literature doesn’t show people who look like you in the brochures. It shows you that you’re not alone and there are people out there like you.”