Underneath It All

When Carol Keane went shopping for wigs and bras after her mastectomy 14 years ago, she couldn’t believe what was out there—or more accurately, what wasn’t. “I couldn’t believe things were so antiquated and ugly,” she says. “There was nothing for women who wanted to look beautiful and stylish. And this was New York!”

Keane, a designer and patternmaker, decided to launch Underneath It All, one of the city’s few boutiques for women who’ve had breast cancer. In July 2004 she opened a second Underneath It All shop in the NYU Clinical Cancer Center.

Underneath It All is a one-stop shop, selling everything from prostheses and bras to swimwear and headwear. It also offers lymphedema sleeve fittings, wig fittings, and cosmetics consultations. Every Wednesday a theatrical wig stylist takes appointments to custom-cut wigs to client specifications. Customized toupees for men are available as well.

“You can go online and find a lot of these products, but how can you fit them?,” asks Keane. “With breast forms, for example, everybody’s surgery side is different. No prosthesis will look the same on any two bodies.” With a vast selection of breast forms, shapes, and sizes, Underneath It All can help a woman find her match.

Companies that sell lingerie, swimsuits, and other products for women with cancer have become increasingly responsive to customers’ calls for stylish, comfortable attire, explains Keane. One new breast prosthesis is the first one with “climate control,” alleviating one of the most common complaints about breast prostheses: they’re just too warm. But Underneath It All isn’t just for breast cancer. Chemotherapy has numerous side effects, and someone who’s being treated for ovarian cancer or lung cancer can also find helpful products.