Billow Pillow

The journey that has brought me where I am today began when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. Thanks to her strong conviction and courage, she was able to prevail through surgery, chemo and radiation and has remained cancer free for 28 years. My health challenges began in 2006 when I underwent a thyroidectomy, which turned out positive for thyroid cancer. This was only the beginning.

Over the years my doctor strongly recommended that I get tested for the BCRA gene mutation because of my family and personal history. But it was very expensive at the time and I think a part of me didn’t want to know the result, so I kept putting it off. Over the years the cost went down and I think I started gaining some courage as well, so I met with a genetic counselor and was tested. After two long weeks, the result came back. I was BRCA2 positive.

My feelings after hearing the result were surreal, but I knew what I ultimately had to do: be proactive, take charge of decisions literally affecting my life, and have a double mastectomy. Another difficult decision I made was to have a bilateral salpingo oophorectomy (removal of my ovaries) concurrently with my second of four surgeries.

I was completely unprepared for the pain and discomfort post surgery. In my quest to find a pillow while recovering, I was extremely discouraged to find there was absolutely nothing on the market and decided to create a breast pillow, or “Billow”, that could help me sleep and rest more comfortably. I began sketching designs and researching materials and fillings. I talked to other women in my situation to determine what they desired to be comfortable. Six months later, I had a design and began prototyping the Billow. After a year, I had a prototype and manufacturing process in place. The Billow is made in the USA of domestic, organic, chemical and cruelty-free materials.

Breastcancer.org reports there are over 2.8 million women in the United States with breast cancer. The majority of those women, approximately 80%, will elect to have reconstruction. That’s a lot of women who are going to need a restful night’s sleep--which is extremely important to not only the healing process, but also for the emotional restoration needed after such traumatic surgery.

Billow became a project that gave me something positive to focus on during my recovery. I became extremely enthusiastic about creating the Billow to fill a personal need and also bring a product to market that could help the millions of other women who suffer from breast discomfort.

During my journey, I realized how the little things like a mani/pedi made a big difference in women’s lives by making them feel special and pampered following a breast cancer diagnosis. I developed the Billow “8-Free” nail polish and treatments to give them a boost of confidence and happiness. Billow 8-Free polish also contains ingredients that can help heal and strengthen nails that can be damaged by chemotherapy and medications. Eight-free polish doesn’t contain the harmful chemicals formaldehyde, formaldehyde resin, DBP, toluene, camphor, parabens, triphenyl phosphate (TPHP), or ethyl tosylamide.

My mission is to make a difference in women’s lives by offering them products that can help them feel better, allowing for more rest and comfort after breast surgery. Most people never find their path in life. I was lucky to have found my passion by taking something completely out of my control and turning it into a positive result.

The kind words of encouragement and thankfulness from the women who have breast cancer and who have found comfort in their Billow are what keep me going. Without ever going through this experience myself, I never would have been able to create a product that has helped so many people at a time they need it most.

Billow donates a portion of all proceeds to charities that strive to find a cure.

More info: http://www.billowglobal.com/