The History of the Breastology Bag™
The Breastology Bag™ and Know the Feeling Now were created in 2008 following the natural flow of several serendipitous events.
I had been a practicing registered nurse at The Ohio State University Medical Center for nearly 20 years, when I returned to academia to obtain a nursing degree in 1992. I developed the Breastology Bag™ to meet a requirement for a nursing course assignment at Capital University in Columbus, OH.
I created a breast self-exam patient teaching tool. By sewing one soft sculpture breast after another, the entire story of breast self-exam was told and 6 soft sculpture breasts were born! After receiving enthusiastic reviews from my nursing instructor and nurse classmates, I took the sculptures in a tote bag to the OSU nursing units where I tested their credibility. I taught small groups of patients about breast health and breast self-exam for 13 years. My tool was a success! Newly admitted patients asked to be taught about breast health as a result of positive patient testimonials. Other nurses, and even sometimes patients, were able to easily promote breast health by using the six soft sculptures. Everyone was learning breast health awareness: adults and adolescents, patients, staff, and students, women as well as men! It was apparent that everyone could learn and anyone could teach!
In 2008, a few years following retirement, I was amazed while shopping one day. A store cashier reintroduced herself to me as a former patient and a breast cancer survivor. She told me, "I hoped that I would see you again to thank you. Years ago, your bag of breasts taught me all about feeling for breast changes, and now I am a breast cancer survivor." She said that my soft sculpture breasts had made a lasting impression and were lifesaving!
Weeks later, the soft sculpture breasts unexpectedly tumbled out of my closet. I am once again sharing my sculptures with others to promote a continued awareness about breast health. My company, Know the Feeling Now, Ltd., offers you the Breastology Bag™ – a teaching tool that every woman needs!
Jerilynn Leckrone, BSN, RN
