Cynthia's Fine Lingerie, located in the historic Fuller-Watts House, looks at first like one of the things it is — an upscale women's boutique, its 1891-vintage rooms filled with sophisticated dresses and jackets, whimsical Laurel Burch socks, jewelry and eye-catching boiled-wool handbags.
But nestled in a cozy back room, furnished with comfy seats and box-filled shelves that stretch floor to ceiling, is the heart of Cynthia Crawford's longtime business, a place where women who have undergone mastectomies for breast cancer can come to recover the feminine contours that enhance their health as well as their psyches.
"For women who don't have surgical reconstruction, a breast prosthesis is needed for more than appearance," Crawford said. "It's important after breast cancer for the two sides to be even. Of course, the prosthesis is cosmetic, but it also keeps the spine, the shoulders and the neck in alignment, or else there can be severe pain."
Even some women who haven't had full mastectomies seek breast prosthetics, she said, because depending on the size and location of a tumor, lumpectomies can result in noticeably uneven breast shape. And even without breast cancer, some women's breasts simply develop to be noticeably different in size.
Crawford knows what she's talking about. She became interested in breast prosthetics in the mid-1970s, when she worked in intimate apparel at the Lipman-Wolfe department store at Valley River Center. That followed six years of retail experience at Meier & Frank just after she finished high school.
"I learned to fit (bras) from an old corsetier, and I also learned about prostheses, because Lipman's did that, too," she said. "From the start, I especially loved helping the women who needed that kind of service."
Seeking more experience in the field of breast prosthetics, Crawford went to work for Airway Surgical Appliance, a company in Cincinnati that manufactured and distributed the products.
"My territory was Washington, Oregon, California, Arizona and one other state that I probably never got to," she recalls. "At that point, I just wanted to have my own store."
Borrowing $5,000 from a brother, she purchased prosthetics and set up shop within a store her cousin owned at the old Oakway Mall in 1985.
"In three years, I was able to move down the hall into my own space," Crawford said. "I moved three times within the mall, each time to a larger space."
Then, in 1998, she bought the Fuller-Watts House, where she's been ever since.
"I did really well at Oakway, but I wanted to invest in my own property and not pay rent, and I also wanted to offer women a more secluded, personal place to come for this special need," Crawford said.
Ironically, by that time her compassion for women who had undergone mastectomy had turned into personal knowledge.
In 1993, at age 43, Crawford herself was diagnosed with breast cancer. Because four lymph nodes were affected, she underwent mastectomy of the right breast.
"I had to keep my business open, so I went back to work a week and a half later. It was probably a little too soon," she said. "Then I had five months of chemotherapy, and I also went through radiation. Emotionally, it was hard."
But at the same time, having shared their experience obviously gives her a special rapport with the people who come through the door of her shop.
"My goal for these women is to come in, be fitted, put the prosthesis on, wear it and not think any more about it," Crawford said. "They need to know that they can still buy a pretty bra — it doesn't have to be utilitarian. I stock a whole range of sizes, styles and colors so almost everyone who comes in can find what she wants."
Fitting starts with finding a prosthesis the right size and weight for the woman's figure, then slipping it into the pocket inside the specially designed bra.
"It's very important to have a bra that covers the prosthesis and supports its weight, which makes it feel secure and natural," she said. "Of course, the bras have pockets on both sides to accommodate single or double mastectomies; if one side is not used, it doesn't affect the fit at all."
There's also a prosthesis, which Crawford personally prefers, which has a sticky inner surface that clings to the skin of the chest and doesn't require a special prosthetic bra.
"As long as you wash it frequently (because of oils in the skin), it lasts a very long time," she said.
"I don't sell as many of these, but I like it because I can wear it with any bra I want and feel very secure."
Breast prosthetics aren't cheap — the ones she carries start at about $285 apiece — but most health insurance companies, including Medicare, cover at least part of the cost, Crawford said.
Both her store in Eugene and one by the same name that she owns in Medford are accredited for Medicare payments.
"To get accreditation, I had to do things like putting up exit signs, doing CPR training and developing a fire-escape plan — things that had nothing to do with fitting prostheses," Crawford said. "Some places choose not to do those things, but then women who have Medicare can't go there and get reimbursed for their prosthetic purchases, so I thought it was important."
Most of her clients have insurance, but she screens those who don't have the means to purchase their prosthetics and sometimes can find help for them through a local women's charitable organization.
Her shops also carry a full range of swimsuits designed for prosthetics, "but they can be worn by anyone," as well as a line of sleek cotton turbans, sleep caps and a variety of other hats, primarily for those who have lost their hair during chemotherapy "but really attractive on everyone," she said.
About 90 percent of her business is related to breast prosthetics, Crawford said, and being able to help women with those needs is her greatest satisfaction.
"When women come in here, it's a new world for them," Crawford said. "When they leave, they feel very happy — they feel back to normal again. It's a wonderful feeling, and it should be."