A mum of two battling breast cancer has launched an accessible clothing line to help cancer patients. The clothes are fitted with holes to allow access to their ports while they undergo chemotherapy.
Alexia Baron, 31, was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2020 while she was 34 weeks pregnant with her second child, Mila, who is now two.
She underwent a double mastectomy in September 2020 and has also gone through 18 chemotherapy sessions.
After struggling to find any suitable clothing to wear while undergoing her treatment, Alexia became inspired and decided to set up her own clothing company – Porto & Bello – that sells items featuring zips and pockets to make accessing a port easier for patients and staff.
A port is a small medical appliance that is placed underneath the skin. It is attached to a catheter (a thin and flexible tube) that is threaded into a large vein above the right side of the heart.
The port will remain in patients for extended periods (they can last years), but when treatment is needed, a needle is inserted through the skin to access the port.
They can be used to draw blood and give treatments, including IV fluids, blood transfusions, and drugs such as chemotherapy and antibiotics.
Alexia also notes that the clothing line is accessible to all patients who may have a port as well as those who have PICC lines, long lines and need IV treatments.
Alexia, the founder of Porto & Bello, who lives in Finchley, London, with her husband Josh, 31 and their two children, Mila, two and Jackson, four, said that her own experience with cancer inspired her to come up with the company.
She added: ‘It was the most difficult time, but from it came the idea to create something to help others.’
Alexia found out she was pregnant with daughter Mila in August 2020 but soon after, she started to notice pain in her armpit and felt a mass in her breast.
She was checked over by a doctor who initially thought it could be a cyst associated with her pregnancy but was referred for an ultrasound in March 2020.
She was officially diagnosed with breast cancer a week later.
‘It was a huge shock – I thought the doctors must be wrong,’ Alexia said.
‘I didn’t understand how this could be happening.
‘I felt really alone and had to grieve the idea of what I thought my pregnancy and delivery was going to be.
‘Everything you expect to be excited about was taken away from me.’
Five days after being diagnosed with cancer, the UK went into its first Covid-19 lockdown, and Alexia had to face her treatment alone.
She added: ‘The pandemic changed everything for me. It didn’t allow me to have anyone with me throughout my treatment.
‘I went through every single chemotherapy appointment on my own and even had the major double mastectomy surgery by myself.’
However, before treatment could begin, Alexia had to deliver her baby.
‘It was right at the start of the pandemic, and I was terrified that I couldn’t buy formula or nappies for my baby, that was coming sooner than we thought,’ she recalled.
‘I was so overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers, who came together to get me wipes, nappies, formula and everything we needed at such an uncertain time.
‘I had my baby at University College London Hospital on 31st March 2020 – called Mila Barron, weighing 2.5 kilos.
‘Once her vitals were okay, I was able to hold her. It was amazing.’
But the next day, Alexia was rushed to the UCH Macmillan Cancer Centre for the scans she wasn’t allowed to have while pregnant.
Only then did they discover the full extent of her cancer.
Due to the lockdown, Alexia had to go through the birth of her child and her treatment alone, without the support of her husband, Josh.
‘My life turned upside down,’ Josh, who is the co-founder of Porto & Bello, said.
‘I was looking forward to my second child, and suddenly I was watching my daughter’s birth on FaceTime. I couldn’t see her for two weeks.
‘I spent that time learning all I could about cancer and my wife’s diagnosis so I could become the carer that my wife and kids needed.
‘I’m extremely proud of what my wife has achieved. She wants to make a difference in the lives of people who are struggling like she was.’
The regular chemotherapy sessions began to impact Alexia’s veins, so she had to get a port placed for her treatment to continue.
She said: ‘I remember my nurse asked me to name my port, and I named it Portobello. I know it sounds silly, but it took away some of the anxiety of the treatment.
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‘I was about to start treatment and had a port placed to the left side of my chest.
‘I knew that meant I needed access to my chest at all times.
‘When I started treatment, I sat with my t-shirt around my neck, with my chest exposed. I also had a cold cap on my head, and I was freezing cold.
‘We looked everywhere to find some clothing to make me more comfortable, but we couldn’t find anything.’
Alexia used this experience to create a product line that she hopes will provide comfort for others going through similar treatments.
‘You lose a lot of yourself going through cancer treatment, you feel exposed, uncomfortable and cold, and I just wanted to feel a bit more myself. I knew something needed to change,’ she added.
‘One in two people in the UK will get cancer in their lifetime. That’s a scary statistic.
‘I’m two years down the line with the treatment, and it is like a part-time job.
‘We cannot treat people who are going through cancer as patients. They need to be seen as humans.
‘They should feel comfortable going from treatment to work, picking their kids up or boarding a bus and not feel like a science experiment.’
Porto & Bello launched in April this year, and Alexia has been overwhelmed with positive responses.
‘It’s not just people suffering from cancer that are using clothes from this clothing line, but also people undergoing treatments for kidney dialysis, Crohn’s disease and sepsis,’ she explained.
‘It’s honestly been the most incredible couple of months just witnessing something I knew was a very real struggle for me, connecting with so many people going through the same struggle and that this problem needed to be fixed.
‘We plan on extending the line to a kid’s clothing line in the near future as we’ve received messages from parents asking if any smaller sizes were available. It is sad, but it is true.’
The company has been in touch with several cancer charities in the hopes of collaborating, but it’s still a work in progress.
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‘Building the company has been a challenge – with two children, lockdown and cancer to compete with. But I have such a fire in my belly to make this work. And the support we’ve received has really helped too,’ Alexia said.
‘Porto & Bello allowed me to heal and share my story. When you’re diagnosed with cancer, you can’t help but ask: ‘Why me?’
‘But cancer shows no prejudice, and it can affect anyone and everyone. That’s why I wanted to make Porto & Bello, to make things easier in any way for people facing one of the toughest challenges.’
Alexia’s clothing collection is available at Accessible Clothing For Treatment | Porto And Bello.
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