AnaOno’s founder and CEO Dana Donofree knows a thing or two about turning a nightmare into a dream come true.
With a breast cancer diagnosis just shy of her 28th birthday, she hunkered down and prepared for the chemotherapy and multiple surgeries to come. With the support of friends, family, and survivor support groups, not only did she recover, she thrived.
A fashion designer by trade, her career was just taking off before her diagnosis, and was put on hold indefinitely pending her recovery. While getting back to some semblance of normalcy, she realized none of her clothes fit anymore. She went shopping and was beyond frustrated by the fact that nothing was designed to fit her new form.
That’s when she realized what cancer had done for her. Cancer had postponed her wedding, her future as a fashion designer, and turned her life upside down in so many painful ways. But in the end, it gave her back the career it had stolen with something extra: a life full of passion and meaning that gave her the opportunity to give back and help other women experiencing the devastation that a cancer diagnosis can bring.
The lack of lingerie available to mastectomy patients motivated her to begin her own line of lingerie, swimwear, and loungewear made for women learning to love their new, post-reconstruction bodies.
Dana’s story and the story of AnaOno is nothing short of awe-inspiring. We salute her for her courage, strength, and compassion, but maybe most of all, her determination. Because of that determination, women worldwide are looking in the mirror and loving what they see again. To us, that’s beating cancer on an entirely different front.
“Giving back and creating sisterhood is tantamount to AnaOno’s mission, so this opportunity gives me extraordinary gratitude. My experience with breast cancer has finally taken me full circle, from an everyday 20-something woman, to a cancer patient, to a survivor, to a business owner, to a woman who can make a difference in the lives of others.” ~Dana Donofree
Go to https://www.anaono.com to read more incredible stories from other cancer survivors and take a look at their beautiful line of lingerie.
Also, follow them on Facebook and Twitter @AnaOnoIntimates