Nineteen years ago, when Dorothy Brown, 74, was diagnosed with cancer and had one of her breasts removed, she was not able to find a place in or near Laurel that sold mastectomy prostheses, mastectomy bras and other products for breast cancer survivors.

"My sister and I called all over to find bras and bathing suits and couldn't find them, so to get what I needed, I had to use mail order," Brown said.

But since Main Street Pharmacy owner Joan Kim opened A Woman's Place at 653 Main St. two years ago, Brown and other breast cancer victims now have a place in Laurel where they can go for the products they need.

"It is a godsend and I was thrilled when it opened," Brown said. "I don't have to use a catalog anymore and hope that what I ordered fits."

A Woman's Place schedules free bra fittings for all women, offers breast feeding classes and sells lactation products. But its wide range of mastectomy bras and prostheses for breast cancer victims is a new service for the area.

"There's an incredible need in this community for this kind of store because breast cancer patients have special needs," said Amber McCann, the certified lactation counselor and certified bra and mastectomy fitter who manages A Woman's Place.

Those special needs, before and after surgery, is why Kim said she opened A Woman's Place.

"With breast surgery, you don't know what to expect, which is why we really like to see women before the surgery," Kim said. "We can have them come in and fit them in a sterile camisole that has two fiber-filled forms that they can wear right after surgery, so they won't be so shocked by no longer having their breasts."

After surgery, some women leave the hospital with uncomfortable drainage tubes attached to their chests that are hard to hide. The sterile camisoles Kim referred to have pouches for the tubes and frontal fastenings so a woman doesn't have to reach behind her back to take it on or off.

To make women feel comfortable when they come to the store, A Woman's Place has a cozy, private fitting room for clients that has hardwood floors, 19th-century furnishings, a chandelier and heavy gold brocade drapes.

"We have silk robes for them to wear and I give them tea or coffee because I want them to be comfortable. We didn't want a medical or supply store feel," said McCann, who Kim hired last May to run the store. " I know a bra isn't the answer to everything but our breasts are very personal and I see people come to life in this room."

For some women, McCann may be the first person to see them undressed after their surgery and she realizes that her reaction to their scars is critical.

"I've seen scars of all sizes and whatever your chest looks like, it isn't going to bother or shock me," McCann said.

Brown, who described the fitting room as "serene," said, "She (McCann) made me feel so comfortable when she was measuring me and wasn't staring at me. I tried on so many bras the first time I went there and Amber fitted my daughter well too, who has trouble getting bras to fit because her breasts are large.

"I told my sister-in-law's mom, who's in her 80s and had a mastectomy, about the place. She went and loved it."

Brown's insurance pays for her prosthesis and six mastectomy bras a year, which most insurers will do. The mastectomy bras range from $30 to $90 and can fit bust sizes up to a 52 J. The prostheses can cost from $180 for a regular design to more than $300 for prostheses with coolants inside or backings that stick to the skin and can be worn braless.

On June 20, McCann held an open house to support Footsteps for Girls, a local group that is raising money to participate in the 3-Day breast cancer walk in Washington, D.C., in October. Group's member Erica Carr has three cousins and five aunts who are victims of breast cancer. One aunt died from the disease. Carr plans to bring one of her aunts for a fitting with McCann.

"She's embarrassed that she doesn't have a prosthesis and cries when her husband hugs her or when she looks in the mirror," Carr said. "She's in her 60s and has one real large side and a flat side. No one told her she could get a prosthesis, but now that I know about this place, I'm bringing her in next week."

It's hard to differentiate between McCann's mastectomy bras and the regular line she sells. In the past, she said mastectomy bras, "looked like old ladies' bras but now they're just as stylish as others."

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