Everett bra shop proves to be a real lifesaver

  • By Andrea Brown Herald Writer
  • Tuesday, September 30, 2014 3:04pm
  • Life

This is among the stories in Think Pink, our upcoming special section about fighting breast cancer. Look for more in Sunday’s Herald.

One thing led to another.

First, Linda Barth was laid off from her job at Boeing.

So, she went to the community college for retraining and decided to take an oil painting class.

Then she went on the Everett Art Walk.

Citrine Health women’s wellness center was one of the stops on the map.

“I walked in the door and said, ‘What do you guys do here?’” Barth said. “They said, ‘We do mammograms and pap smears for people who don’t have insurance.’”

Barth, 61, of Stanwood, hadn’t had a mammogram in about 20 years, so she figured it was time.

The mammogram led to a breast ultrasound then a biopsy. Three days before Christmas in 2010, she got the cancer verdict.

“I was dead-on-the-floor shocked,” she said. “I’d been the healthiest person on earth ever.”

The tumor was Stage I.

“The doctor said, ‘It’s big enough to see and find. Small enough to remove. You couldn’t have had a mammogram at a better time,’” Barth said.

She had a lumpectomy, surgery in which only the tumor and some surrounding tissue were removed. After surgery, she had seven weeks of radiation and continues to take a breast cancer treatment drug.

“It’s really funny about having cancer,” Barth said. “People don’t talk to you about it. The last thing they want to ask you is, ‘Which one is it?’ or ‘How much boobage is left?’”

Only her bra fitter knows for sure.

“You can’t get any closer to anybody than your bra fitter,” Barth said.

She goes to The Bra Shop at Citrine Health, a nonprofit that also houses a women’s wellness center and a gift shop. Citrine opened The Bra Shop after moving to a new location in downtown Everett in June. The Bra Shop has a boutique look and feel to it.

“We really needed it to look inviting and modern and upscale,” Citrine director Kerri Mallams said. “We want people to want to come here.”

There are bras for all women, she said.

“It’s not only for women who have had breast cancer. We have bras for everybody, for all body sizes and shapes and also bras for women who are post-mastectomy.”

The shop saved the day for some women in a wedding party staying at the hotel across the street, who discovered at the last minute their bras didn’t fit right with their dresses.

The shop has bras that are lacy, sexy, sporty, big and small. Walk-ins are welcome.

“It’s good to make an appointment,” Mallams said. “It takes about an hour, a lot of times longer.”

The display area is bright and airy. By contrast, the private fitting room, where women are measured, is intimate with mood lighting. “It’s a relaxed environment,” Mallams said. “You want to be comfortable taking your shirt off.”

It’s more than crunching numbers.

“We take basic measurements and ask what needs are,” bra fitter Angie Fair said. “It is important to get a good fit so their natural breast and breast prosthetic are held correctly. Otherwise it might be hard to match their natural breast if they are wearing the wrong bra size. Especially after having surgeries, they might have lost or gained weight. They might have been wearing the wrong size of bra all their lives anyway. Women often wear the wrong size of bra. It becomes really important to get a good fit so their natural breast and breast prosthesis are held correctly.”

The shop stocks hundreds of gently used breast prosthetics, or forms, which fit into pocketed bras. “There are a lot of different shapes and sizes with a lot of variety in the technology,” Fair said. “A lot of times they build up heat, so they use cooling gel technology or climate-controlled backs.”

Retail can be $350 or more per prosthetic. Insurance carriers differ on what is covered.

“If women are able to make a donation for prosthetics and bras, that’s wonderful,” Fair said. “But if not, that is OK, too.”

Every woman is different.

As a lumpectomy patient, Barth said she maintained part of her breast.

“I didn’t have enough taken off for reconstruction. A bra makes it look like they’re supposed to. You want to be proportioned.”

She tried on at least 20 different bras before choosing a shiny red bra.

It fit more than her shape. She volunteers as late night radio deejay on Everett public radio station KSER (90.7 FM), using the name “The Lady in Red.”

Andrea Brown: 425-339-3443; abrown@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @reporterbrown.

Watch for more stories about fighting breast cancer in Think Pink, a special section inside the Sunday, Oct. 5, Herald and at HeraldNet.com.

The Bra Shop

The Bra Shop is in the Citrine Health building at 2940 W. Marine View Drive, Everett.

The Bra Shop serves all women who need bras, especially low-income women with Medicaid/DSHS health insurance. In partnership with the Washington Breast, Cervical and Colon Health Program, the breast health program connects women to free or low-cost preventative health care services. Underinsured and uninsured women can receive yearly health exams that include cervical screening and mammograms throughout Island, San Juan, Skagit, Snohomish, Pierce and Whatcom Counties. For more about the program, call 425-259-9899 or 888-651-8931.

The building houses a women’s wellness center with fitness classes, massage rooms, yoga and facials. There is a gift and art shop.

Hours are 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday; and 8 a.m. to noon Saturday.

There will be a grand opening from 4 to 7 p.m. Oct. 15. Breast cancer survivors are invited to cut the ribbon at 5:30 p.m. To participate in the ribbon cutting call Debbie Rowe, 425-259-9899.

For more: www.citrinehealth.org.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Life

Brandon Hailey of Cytrus, center, plays the saxophone during a headlining show at Madam Lou’s on Friday, Dec. 29, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lynnwood-based funk octet Cytrus has the juice

Resilience and brotherhood take center stage with ‘friends-first’ band.

FILE - In this April 11, 2014 file photo, Neko Case performs at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. Fire investigators are looking for the cause of a fire on Monday, Sept. 18, 2017, that heavily damaged Case’s 225-year-old Vermont home. There were no injuries, though a barn was destroyed. It took firefighters two hours to extinguish the blaze. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP, File)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Singer-songwriter Neko Case, an indie music icon from Tacoma, performs Sunday in Edmonds.

Sarah Jean Muncey-Gordon puts on some BITCHSTIX lip oil at Bandbox Beauty Supply on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024, in Langley, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Bandbox Beauty was made for Whidbey Island locals, by an island local

Founder Sarah Muncey-Gordon said Langley is in a renaissance, and she’s proud to be a part of it.

Dominic Arizona Bonuccelli
Tangier’s market boasts piles of fruits, veggies, and olives, countless varieties of bread, and nonperishables, like clothing and electronics.
Rick Steves on the cultural kaleidoscope of Tangier in Morocco

Walking through the city, I think to myself, “How could anyone be in southern Spain — so close — and not hop over to experience this wonderland?”

chris elliott.
Vrbo promised to cover her rental bill in Hawaii, so why won’t it?

When Cheryl Mander’s Vrbo rental in Hawaii is uninhabitable, the rental platform agrees to cover her new accommodations. But then it backs out. What happened?

Byrds co-founder Roger McGuinn, seen here in 2013, will perform April 20 in Edmonds. (Associated Press)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

R0ck ‘n’ Roll Hall of Famer Roger McGuinn, frontman of The Byrds, plans a gig in Edmonds in April.

Mother giving in to the manipulation her daughter fake crying for candy
Can children be bribed into good behavior?

Only in the short term. What we want to do is promote good habits over the course of the child’s life.

Speech Bubble Puzzle and Discussion
When conflict flares, keep calm and stand your ground

Most adults don’t like dissension. They avoid it, try to get around it, under it, or over it.

The colorful Nyhavn neighborhood is the place to moor on a sunny day in Copenhagen. (Cameron Hewitt)
Rick Steves: Embrace hygge and save cash in Copenhagen

Where else would Hans Christian Andersen, a mermaid statue and lovingly decorated open-face sandwiches be the icons of a major capital?

Last Call is a festured artist at the 2024 DeMiero Jazz Festival: in Edmonds. (Photo provided by DeMiero Jazz Festival)
Music, theater and more: What’s happening in Snohomish County

Jazz ensemble Last Call is one of the featured artists at the DeMiero Jazz Festival on March 7-9 in Edmonds.

Kim Helleren
Local children’s author to read at Edmonds Bookshop

Kim Helleren will read from one of her books for kids at the next monthly Story Time at Edmonds Bookshop on March 29.

Chris Elliott
Lyft surprises traveler with a $150 cleaning charge

Jared Hakimi finds a $150 charge on his credit card after a Lyft ride. Is that allowed? And will the charge stick?

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.