When Ciara Donlon set up a niche lingerie shop specialising in maternity underwear, she was surprised by what she discovered: women battling breast cancer and recovering from mastectomies frequented the retail outlet.

For comfort, these ladies were willing to wear maternity bras over specific underwear available for them post-surgery.

“I used to have a lot of ladies coming into me who had breast cancer. They were asking me for pretty, comfortable, supportive lingerie.

They were willing to buy maternity, even though the treatment they were having can leave you infertile.

"They were in a pretty bad way to even have to consider maternity bras,” she recalls.

“That made me look at the market, because I didn’t stock mastectomy [bras] at all.

"Basically, I saw it was dominated by three large players, all of whom made prosthetics as well.

"They were actually building the bras around the breast forms, so it was more functional, it was more to just hold up the breast form.

“They weren’t actually thinking about who was wearing the product. They were ugly as a result and very uncomfortable.

"The other extreme then was sexy and lacy, which was not what these women wanted straight after surgery.”

Mixing her desire to fix this injustice with her business background, Ciara went on to set up Theya Healthcare and is now CEO of the company. Trading since February 2015, they make post-surgery bras and briefs.

Research

To get the product right, Ciara and her team undertook years of research and testing.

Having studied marketing at third-level and subsequently working in high-profile positions at a string of multinational companies, Ciara knew the importance of identifying a gap in the market and tailoring a product to the needs of your demographic.

After being granted an Enterprise Ireland feasibility fund for females in 2012, Ciara used the money to interview 80 breast-cancer patients in Ireland and the UK.

The biggest issue for these women was what to wear post-surgery while they were receiving treatment and getting their heads around the fact that they may have lost one or both breasts.

Bamboozled

It was decided the bras would be seam free, wire free, tag free and front-fastening, but most importantly, made from Ciara’s secret ingredient: bamboo.

The plant normally associated with pandas is known to have healing properties and the material is made from bamboo-kun, which is naturally occurring in the cellulose of the plant’s fibre.

Theya Healthcare products are made from 70% bamboo, which Ciara describes as “the sweet spot”. The company has a patent pending on this material mix.

Ciara Donlon who owns Theya Health Care, which makes bras for women who have had breast cancer./ Ramona Farrelly

“The women, when I was interviewing them in the focus groups, were talking about wearing bras day and night, 24 hours, for six weeks post-surgery.

They had seams, they were digging into them, they were tight, they were compressive and they were made of synthetic material, so they were making them sweat profusely.

“Firstly, I didn’t understand why the bras were made of synthetic material, why cotton wasn’t being used.

"Secondly, I was looking for something better than cotton. I came across bamboo in a natural fabrics magazine. It’s antibacterial, absorbent, wickable, UV resistant, hypoallergenic and sustainable. It’s a miracle material – and also incredibly soft to the touch.”

Hard facts

The Dubliner believed in the properties of bamboo – but if Theya Healthcare was going to convince medical professionals, hard facts would be needed to back up the claims.

“I knew if I was going to sell to the medical world and went into doctors and nurses and said: ‘Oh, by the way, my material is going to help your patients heal faster,’ that firstly, they wouldn’t believe me and secondly, potentially they might laugh at me.”

A clinical trial took place at UCD. The bamboo fabric mix was tested against two of the most virulent strains of bacteria that affect women post-breast cancer.

It came back 93% and 97% resistant to the growth of the two bacteria. This was a major breakthrough for the company.

Theya Healthcare now supplies all the major oncology hospitals in Ireland, mastectomy shops and various pharmacies, as well as being available online.

It is also an NHS supplier and expanding worldwide by the day. The doctors Ciara was once afraid might laugh, now commend her product.

Last year she was named Laureate for Europe at the 2017 Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards, which recognises female social entrepreneurs.

Although Ciara is very happy that medical professionals and others endorse the product, it is the feedback from customers that she is most proud of.

“One lady had oozing wounds and she didn’t want to go outside the house, she was embarrassed that it might leak through.

"Our bras are 59% more absorbent than cotton," she explains. "When she put on our bra it didn’t leak and she went outside again.

It’s stuff like that, being called a comfort blanket, women saying it helped them to look in the mirror again, that makes me so proud.

“I started my business to help these women feel better about themselves. Yes, I’m making money from it, but at the end of the day it’s to help women.

"We do that and it makes me incredibly proud.”

What's in a name

Theya Healthcare is expanding rapidly, but not without hard work and – like all good projects – there were a few blips along the way.

The original name of the brand was Isis Rose, but naturally when part of the name was adopted by one of the world’s most notorious hardline militant groups, it had to be changed.

In the space of a couple of days, before a meeting with House of Fraser, a new name had to be conjured up.

Thankfully, House of Fraser was more than happy with Theya Healthcare and now stock the products in store and online.

France

Now based in France with her husband and son, Ciara works between there and the Theya Healthcare office at UCD.

“I have the best of both worlds now. I am based in France, but I travel a lot, I get to come home, see my friends and stay with my mum, which is lovely.

"I get my bacon and cabbage every month the first night when I come back. It works out really well.”

Ciara was always a risk taker: in her 20s she quit a really good job with a multinational to go and train as a pilot. She is qualified, but flying did not work out as a career. Luckily for women everywhere, she continued taking risks and set up Theya Healthcare.

Ambitious as always, Ciara has big plans for the future. Theya Healthcare is looking at the possibility of manufacturing other garments and briefs for men are currently on the table.

Ciara makes no apologies for the fact that she wants to expand globally and in five years is aiming to turn over €100m.

But, beneath all the business, the company’s founding principal – born in a little retail outlet – of wanting to make a real difference to the lives of the women who use its product, is still the same.

“All the corporates that I worked for, like telecoms and banks, they were providing a service, but they weren’t doing anything to change the world in a good way.

I really like that is what Theya Healthcare does. We have an impact on real women’s lives and make them feel better about themselves. That’s basically the bottom line for us.”

For further information, visit www.theyahealthcare.com

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