If you know anyone that’s gone through breast cancer (or, you’ve gone through it yourself), you’ll know just how much love and support that person needs to get through that extraordinarily difficult time. Dr. Elizabeth Chabner Thompson should know—she underwent prophylactic mastectomies and experienced first-hand the patient side of the illness.
She also had a great idea to develop a product for patience coming out of surgery—a “goody” bag that would have all the recovery essentials from cards to toothbrushes to bras—and the BFFL Bag was born.
This is the story of Dr. Thompson’s incredible journey from medical practice to breast cancer patient to healthcare startup business.
Dr. Entrepreneur
Elizabeth earned a Masters Degree in Public Health from Harvard; she then went on to get her medical degree from John Hopkins University. As a radiation oncologist, she was inspired by her mother’s breast cancer to focus on women’s health.
But it was when she went through her own prophylactic mastectomies to decrease her chances of breast cancer that she realized just how important the recovery from surgery was. This sparked an idea that would change the course of her life forever.
The Surgery Recovery Essentials
After her own surgery, Dr. Thompson was inspired to help other women going through the same surgery recovery. She wanted to create a bag that would have all the essentials for a recovering surgery patient that would be your best friend. Enter BFFL Bags—the friend-to-friend care bags especially made for women patients.
Each bag is special for the type of surgery the patient is having. For example, the breast bag includes a unique Masthead Bra or the Mommy/Delivery bag that includes flip-flops and nursing pads.
Dr. Thompson has put her medical practice on hold to focus full-time on her new business venture, and has since seen her company grow.
Doctor’s Orders
So, what advice does Dr. Thompson have for other budding entrepreneur?
- Make a realistic budget and double it— there are plenty of hidden costs and fees that will inevitably come up when starting your business that you should be prepared for.
- Time is money—make sure you’re spending it wisely and with the right people.
- Have passion—this is the key ingredient to getting through all the difficult obstacles ahead and to the future success of your business.
Finding Balance
Dr. Elizabeth Thompson has many roles in life: Mom, wife, daughter, doctor, entrepreneur, cancer patient and athlete. But it’s her first three roles that she puts above all. According to the doc, she has missed sales and opportunities so that her children and family came first. In the end, she says this is her balance and this is worth it.
This is an EXCELLENT gift for any women going through surgery, and I highly recommend checking out BFFL bags if you or someone you know will be facing recovery. It sure beats flowers that will die soon anyway… erg, not really the message we want to be sending to patients!
