The Westport Woman’s Club (WWC) partnered with Necessities, Inc. in April shortly before the Mother's Day celebration to provide 95 Necessities Bags ™ filled with information and supplies for women facing the challenges of mastectomy and reconstruction.
Maureen Lutz, founder of Necessities, Inc. and a former breast cancer surgery patient, learned through trial and error what she needed to help her be comfortable while she recovered and wanted to share this knowledge with other mastectomy patients. Each Necessities Bag is filled with information as well as wound care supplies and personal items for hygiene and comfort. The signature item in each tote is a pair of handmade comfort pillows. “After breast surgery you hurt down your side and need something to provide cushioning,” said Ms. Lutz. Members of the WWC sewed and stuffed 200 pillows and donated other items for the totes. Volunteers from the WWC met on April 29th and Ms. Lutz instructed them on how to fill and tie the bags.
Necessities Bags are distributed free of charge to patients prior to surgery by medical professionals and cancer support centers. Necessities, Inc., which distributed 1200 totes last year, is a non-profit organization supported through donations and the work of hundreds of volunteers.
