Mary Catherine's

After her radical mastectomy 40 years ago, Mary Catherine Scott found looking for post mastectomy products frustrating and exhausting. There simply was not a shop that offered all the different brands and styles of prostheses, swimsuits and attractive lingerie all in one place. With the support of her husband and seven children, then 55-year-old Mary Catherine opened her own business in her dining room. She also began working at the local Nordstrom to learn more about customer needs. Soon, Mary Catherine came to believe that the best solution for mastectomy patients was a smaller, specialized shop with trained fitters, compassionate sales personnel and a full line of top-quality products. In 1978, the first Mary Catherine’s location opened in Portland, Oregon; a Seattle location opened four years later. As the fledgling business grew, Mary Catherine worked hard to make her shop profitable while reaching out to women of all income levels – arranging for insurance payments and helping customers find donated prostheses through the “Reach For Recovery” program. Today Mary Catherine’s continues to be run by the family. With certified, experience fitters and the best prostheses, compression garments, intimate apparel and more, the shops provide exactly what Mary Catherine envisioned more than thirty years ago: a caring space for mastectomy patients to find everything they need.