While October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, Forever Me Cancer and Specialty Boutique in Bettendorf works year-round to provide products and services to aid women who have undergone breast cancer treatment. Founded in Bettendorf by Dr. Kay Knight, Forever Me Cancer and Specialty Boutique’s name was chosen to reflect the compassion and mission of […]
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While October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month, Forever Me Cancer and Specialty Boutique in Bettendorf works year-round to provide products and services to aid women who have undergone breast cancer treatment.
Founded in Bettendorf by Dr. Kay Knight, Forever Me Cancer and Specialty Boutique’s name was chosen to reflect the compassion and mission of the owner and her employees. Their passion is to get every woman back to their confident selves, after surgery.
The staff truly believes that they can make a difference everyday by providing a welcoming, compassionate atmosphere and products from leading companies for breast cancer survivors and patients.
In fact, Forever Me won the Better Business Bureau’s prestigious Torch Award in 2019. The award is presented to businesses that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to integrity and ethical practices.
Forever Me, located at 3565 Utica Ridge Road, Bettendorf, draws women from the Quad Cities and beyond — some traveling across several states for the large product selection and caring staff. Opened in 2017, the boutique is filled with colorful bras, swimwear, tanks and other accessories for women who have been through breast cancer. Gone are the mundane beige, white and black options — now, the store offers a multitude of colors and patterns as well as gifts, hats, and durable medical equipment for chemo patients.
Twenty-nine years before Forever Me Cancer and Specialty Boutique was established in the Iowa Quad Cities, across the river was Always a Woman boutique in downtown Moline. The store was opened by Roxanne Kramer, a trailblazer and breast cancer patient, who created breast cancer awareness as a businesswoman and helped meet the medical needs for other women battling the disease.
Forever Me owner Dr. Kay Knight had a close business relationship with Ms. Kramer, who mentored her through opening a boutique on the Iowa side. Ms. Kramer helped guide Dr. Knight through the process of obtaining certifications and education that she needed.
Unfortunately, Ms. Kramer died in 2018 but left behind a legacy in the Quad Cities. “It is because of her fight to help ladies affected by breast cancer that we are here today and I am truly grateful that I get to continue this much needed service,” Dr. Knight said.
A native of the State of Mississippi, she came to the Quad Cities to attend Palmer College of Chiropractic, where she met her husband Dana, a native of DeWitt, Iowa. Dr. Knight graduated in 2004 and both decided to open Absolute Balance Chiropractic, 3565 Utica Ridge Road, Bettendorf, Iowa.
While in practice for 16 years, Dr. Knight had been receiving a lot of referrals for female patients suffering from frozen shoulder — an issue that can result from mastectomy surgery.
These women shared how difficult it was to find breast cancer products and services locally. Many had to drive as far as Peoria, Illinois, just to get the products they needed and others were not physically able to make the drive.
“I thought, a place the size of the Quad Cities, now why in the world would we need to go to Peoria to get something?” the boutique founder recalled.
Iowa didn’t have an option quite like Forever Me Cancer and Specialty Boutique with its large selection and caring service for specialized medical needs. Opening the boutique was a sacrifice for Dr. Knight and her husband as they had to use their personal retirement funds, while they worked to meet stiff Medicare requirements.
The employees of Forever Me work with the breast cancer patient’s physicians to ensure that their medical needs are met and are covered by insurance. Several employees are breast cancer survivors themselves and can provide emotional support and professional prosthesis fittings.
“I have an amazing team and they do an amazing job that I can’t say enough about,” Dr. Knight said.
For uninsured, low-income and no–income patients, Forever Me partners with the Genesis and Trinity foundations as an outreach source. They also receive donations specifically used for those that could not otherwise afford the products and services they need.
“We try to provide for every woman that walks through that door, whether they are covered by insurance or not,” she added.
Forever Me strives to make a positive impact on the lives of every woman going through breast cancer in the community, the business says. As the Quad Cities’ largest boutique, its goal is to help women get back to feeling like themselves. Its staff is focused on helping restore confidence and a positive body image after breast cancer diagnoses and surgery.
