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OSHKOSH, Wis. (AP) — At one of the lowest points in her life, Rena Gomach glanced in the mirror and saw a woman with no self-esteem, a woman who no longer had hair and whose chest was lopsided.
That changed the day she walked into The Hidden Gift, a two-room boutique for breast cancer patients nestled within Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh.
"This is not just a hidden gift, it's a healing gift," the 66-year-old Oshkosh woman told Oshkosh Northwestern Media (http://oshko.sh/1FaiZyc ). "You lose your hair. You lose your fingernails. You have no self-esteem. You're so down, feel so horrible and you're so tired of being sick."
The Hidden Gift at Aurora Medical Center in Oshkosh aims to help women who have breast surgery. Women who have had a mastectomy or lumpectomy can come to The Hidden Gift and get fitted for a prosthetic breast and bras, which in most cases are covered by insurance.
"For some ladies, it's very emotional because they have lost their breast. They don't really know what to expect," said Ann Lenz, a certified mastectomy fitter at The Hidden Gift. "When they leave and are fitted, they feel whole again. They transform in front of me and that's the neat part."
Gomach was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2013. She was initially planned to begin reconstructive surgery immediately after a mastectomy in December 2013, but her cancer was discovered to be more invasive than doctors originally thought. Her right breast was removed and Gomach then underwent three-and-a-half months of chemotherapy and 33 radiation treatments.
After she recovered from the radiation treatments, which left her body raw and bleeding, Gomach went to The Hidden Gift to be fitted for a prosthetic breast.
The prosthesis brought balance back to Gomach's body, helping to restore her self-esteem and making her feel like a woman again.
"Nobody sees it, but you know it's there," Gomach said. "It just gives you that lift, which you need so badly."
Lenz said she tries to match a bra with the personality of the woman she is helping. Bras, which sell for $50, come in a variety of colors, including nude, pink, and black, and styles, such as plain bras or ones with lace and tiny pearls. Prostheses are also available for active wear and swimming suits.
"It's a light at the end of a very dark tunnel," Lenz said. "It makes you feel good."
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Information from: Oshkosh Northwestern Media, http://www.thenorthwestern.com
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