Nearly hidden among the swimsuits and baseball caps arrayed on a
top shelf at the Next Step boutique in Los Gatos, there's a
sudden glitter of crystal. It's an award, actually. And that
award -- not to mention its position -- says everything about
the shop's proprietor, Marita Trobough. Marita, who was
honored as a "community champion" at KTEH's "Speaking of Women's
Health" conference this year, is every bit a champion. But she's
a reluctant one, at least where the spotlight is concerned, as
much as she loves the work she does, that work is its own reward
-- and she doesn't exactly like soaking in the spotlight. |
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On the surface, the work Marita
does looks pretty ordinary: She runs a small, wood-paneled
boutique, and spends her days dealing with all the predictable
retailer's responsibilities that come with it. What's different
about Marita's boutique is the clientele it serves: women who
are battling cancer.
" I remember this one customer, a rabbi, who came into
the shop to help his wife pick out some things she needed. He
watched me very carefully for a while, and then he grasped my
arm and said, "My dear, what you have here isn't a business.
This is a mission you have. Look around here. Look at what
you're doing" |
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Baseball caps, specialty bras and
swimsuits are a mission? Well, yes, for Marita. She believes
that her clients, who are facing the hardest fight of their
lives, deal better with the rigors of their treatments when they
feel better about their reflections in the mirror -- and feel
more comfortable in their clothes. Studies suggest that support
groups, |
| counseling and other "fuzzy" forms of care actually help
patients' prognoses; the American Cancer Society for example,
co-sponsors a "Look Good, Feel Better" Program at Los Gatos
Hospital that brings cosmetologists to patients in the hope that
looking better will actually help them do better in their
treatments. But Marita sees her contribution not so much as a
medical care as just plain caring. --
Incomplete story taken from the October 2003 Issue of San Jose
Magazine
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