Clothing adapted to chemotherapy sessions to “restore self-esteem” to patients

In 2018, the life of Angéline Ribadeau-Dumas changes when she is told that she has breast cancer. Based in Villeurbanne, at the time she was the marketing and sales director of a childcare company and had just completed an executive MBA (Master of Business Administration) in marketing. Then begins the course of care and the first day of the rest of his life.

From illness, Angéline will draw the strength to bounce back and embark on a new career in the service of the sick. She will also be present this Wednesday at the Léon Bérard center in Lyon for the “K-fighters” show highlighting the journey of the resilient women.

The discomfort of undressing

During the first chemotherapy session, the young woman finds herself in a situation that she had not imagined. The nurse asks her to undress because her clothes do not make it easy to put on the port à cath (PAC), a small box positioned under the skin at chest level and connected to a catheter. “I received a blow from the club,” she recalls. There were 8 of us in the room, I found it embarrassing, even humiliating”. Especially since the sessions last between four and six hours.

Once the blow has been taken, he comes up with the idea of ​​creating suitable clothing to avoid being half-naked and getting cold. Simply to feel better. She takes out her notebook, which never leaves her, and makes a sketch of a dress with snap buttons at the shoulder.

“It was a matter of dignity”

Very quickly, she showed the idea to a colleague in order to launch a prototype because Angéline continued to work during her treatment. “That was where I sank,” she confides. Then, she goes to the chemotherapy sessions, dressed in a first model. Just to test it in real conditions and to check that the buttons can close properly around the catheter. “It changed my course of care, it was a question of dignity”, supports Angéline.

Once her chemotherapy is over, the marketing director calls on Lucie Gueyffier, whom she met on the school benches. Both will officially launch Rue du Colibri, the clothing brand suitable for chemotherapy. They have only one idea in mind: “that the people who pass after me are treated in the best possible conditions”, proclaims Angéline Ribadeau-Dumas. “If I can bring my little piece to the building and restore their self-esteem, I would have already won everything,” she says.

Caregivers are also conquered

From the start, Angéline Ribadeau-Dumas’ idea aroused the curiosity of other patients but also of caregivers, who gave her their approval and avenues to develop. Thanks to their feedback, she realized that her clothes can be used for other treatments requiring infusions, such as dialysis.

The clothes of Rue du Colibri, which are aimed at women as well as men and children, are sold online and in more than 60 outlets in France, at wig makers and in certain pharmacies.