
Asking for a Friend - Health, Fitness & Personal Growth Tips for Women in Midlife
Are you ready to make the most of your midlife years but feel like your health isn't quite where it should be? Maybe menopause has been tough on you, and you're not sure how to get back on track with your fitness, nutrition, and overall well-being.
Asking for a Friend is the podcast where midlife women get the answers they need to take control of their health and happiness. We bring in experts to answer your burning questions on fitness, wellness, and mental well-being, and share stories of women just like you who are stepping up to make this chapter of life their best yet.
Hosted by Michele Folan, a health industry veteran with 26 years of experience, coach, mom, wife, and lifelong learner, Asking for a Friend is all about empowering you to feel your best—physically and mentally. It's time to think about the next 20+ years of your life: what do you want them to look like, and what steps can you take today to make that vision a reality?
Tune in for honest conversations, expert advice, and plenty of humor as we navigate midlife together. Because this chapter? It's ours to own, and we’re not going quietly into it!
Michele Folan is a certified nutrition coach with the FASTer Way program. If you would like to work with her to help you reach your health and fitness goals, sign up here:
https://www.fasterwaycoach.com/?aid=MicheleFolan
If you have questions about her coaching program, you can email her at mfolanfasterway@gmail.com
This podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advice. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.
Asking for a Friend - Health, Fitness & Personal Growth Tips for Women in Midlife
Ep.164 A Game-Changer for Breast Health in Motherhood, Menopause & Cancer Care
Breast pain is one of the most common—and most ignored—issues women face from puberty through post-menopause. In this episode of Asking for a Friend, I sit down with Debbie and Troy Sutton, the inspiring mother-son duo behind The Healing Bra—a revolutionary product offering real relief for breast discomfort through every stage of life.
From painful mammograms and postpartum nursing to menopause and breast cancer recovery, The Healing Bra’s temperature therapy pads are changing the way women manage their comfort. What started as a simple question—"Why isn't there anything for this?"—sparked an invention that’s now easing pain and empowering women everywhere.
Whether you're a nursing mom, an athlete, in cancer treatment, or dealing with hormone shifts, you’ll want to hear how this simple, genius idea is redefining breast wellness and self-care.
You can find The Healing Bras and Healing Pads https://thehealingbras.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/thehealingbras/
In this episode, we cover:
- [01:50] The painful mammogram that sparked the idea
- [04:10] Why nothing existed for breast pain—and the market gap they uncovered
- [06:40] How The Healing Bra works (and how it doesn’t replace your bra)
- [09:25] Hot therapy vs cold therapy: use cases from nursing to menopause
- [12:15] Surprising benefits for athletes and post-surgical recovery
- [15:45] Partnering with cancer orgs, OB/GYNs, and wellness professionals
- [18:20] How this journey turned into a mission to serve millions of women
- [22:00] The future of The Healing Bra and upcoming product expansions
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Are you ready to reclaim your midlife body and health? I went through my own personal journey through menopause, the struggle with midsection weight gain, and feeling run-down. Faster Way, a transformative six-week group program, set me on the path to sustainable change. I'd love to work with you! Let me help you reach your health and fitness goals.
https://www.fasterwaycoach.com/?aid=MicheleFolan
Have questions about Faster Way? Please email me at:
mfolanfasterway@gmail.com
After trying countless products that overpromised and underdelivered, RIMAN skincare finally gave me real, visible results—restoring my glow, firmness, and confidence in my skin at 61. RIMAN Korea's #1 Skincare Line - https://michelefolan.riman.com
*Transcripts are done with AI and may not be perfectly accurate.
**This podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing, or other professional healthcare services, including the giving of medical advice. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their healthcare professionals for any such conditions.
Let's be real for a second. If you're over 50 and still trying to eat less and move more, that strategy expired with your 30s. The weight won't budge, the energy is gone and your doctor's side-eye at your annual checkup yeah, that's not going away on its own either. Enter the Faster Way. The program that actually works with your midlife metabolism, not against it. We're talking strategic workouts, real food, and no, you don't have to give up your wine or your social life. This is not a quick fix, though. It's a grown woman reset. So if you're tired of starting over every Monday, do something different. Check the show notes for the link or reach out with your questions. I'm here to help you make this your last start over. Health, wellness, fitness and everything in between. We're removing the taboo from what really matters in midlife. I'm your host, Michele Folan, and this is Asking for a Friend.
Michele Folan:Today's conversation is one that's close to the heart, literally and emotionally. We're diving into the topic that rarely gets the attention it deserves breast pain. Whether it's from hormonal shifts, post-surgical recovery, injury or chronic inflammation. So many women suffer in silence, often with no real solutions. Joining me are Debbie and Troy Sutton, the inspiring mother and son team behind the Healing Bra. What started as a personal mission has turned into a purpose-driven business, helping women reclaim comfort and confidence through an innovative therapeutic bra designed to support healing. We'll talk about how they brought this idea to life, what makes the healing bra different and how their work is making a real impact in women's lives. We'll also explore the self-care rituals that keep them grounded as busy company founders. This is more than just a product. It's a movement rooted in compassion, relief and real support.
Michele Folan:Debbie and Troy Sutton, welcome to Asking for a Friend. Hi, thank you for having us. Yeah, it's nice to see you two again. We met through another podcast and during that conversation my wheels were kind of turning. I'm thinking this is not a topic I have covered on the podcast number one and number two. The breadth of people that this actually involves is really huge. So we're talking from you know, girls that are very young, period, breast pain all the way through, women who have hormonal shifts, and then we had the in-between of the women having babies and all of that. So, first of all, welcome to the show and I want to start with you two, where you're from and then how you got started with the idea behind the Healing Bra.
Debbie Sutton:Oh sure. Well, thank you again for having us. We're excited to be here. Well, we are born and bred in New Jersey. And the aha moment I don't know if you want to tell it, troy or me, but I had a mammogram a few years ago. That was uncomfortable, to say the least. It was, you know, not that any of them are pleasant, but this particular one made me a little bit bruised on my ribs. And when I went home to my family of guys watching a football game, I walked in and Troy was kind enough, as always, to ask how it went. You know how to go, how was it? And I said it blankety, blanked. And he said he got nervous, thinking it was something wrong, and I said no, no, thank no, everything's fine, thank God, everything's fine. I said. But if you guys, if all of you, ever had to put it on the table and get it squished and pulled and this and that, and five or six times, I said you wouldn't do it, you would never go back and something better would have been designed.
Debbie Sutton:There's no doubt every woman seems to agree with me on that. Anyway, Troy, having an engineering background which he may tell you about, had an aha moment. He said don't they give you anything? Isn't there anything they can give you? I said no, no, they don't. They used to give a rose. They don't do that anymore. But anyway, I said it's what we do as women. We, you know, we just do these, these, you know protocols and things that we need to do to stay and remain healthy. They're not always easy. So he had the aha moment and began and developed and invented and patented these healing pads and the healing bra. Troy.
Troy Sutton:Absolutely. Yeah, well, so when growing up in a family of doctors, but I was like the black sheep engineer, so I always wanted to pursue biomedical engineering because I wanted to design prosthetics for war veterans to play sports. So that was my career path and my thought process. And then, when I looked up online for those blue gel ice packs that we all have for our elbows, our knees, our back, I assumed it existed for breasts. Why wouldn't it? It exists for every other body part. So when we looked online, the only thing that we could find were big shoulder pad, clunky, awkward shaped pads, and then only the plastic gel ice pack that would go directly on your breast, which was uncomfortable. The plastic was a little scratchy and sharp on the edges. You can get freezer burn or ice burn.
Troy Sutton:I just knew that there was an option and an opportunity to make a much better product, and so that's why we started developing the Healing Bra and the Healing Pads. It is the only product like it on the market, which is why we were easily and early able to have our patent approved, which was very exciting. And we've officially launched in February, and so everything is exciting and moving forward. And we've officially launched in February, and so everything is exciting and moving forward and we're very optimistic about all. The future has to hold for this.
Michele Folan:So I'm kind of curious. When you launched into this, though, did you know that there was a broader market beyond just women saying, you know, post mammogram or that kind of category?
Troy Sutton:So yes and no. I would say that when we were first developing this, we spent about a year and a half conducting market research and prototype development to see if there was actually a need for this, and through our hundreds, if not thousands, of conversations with different women through different organizations, we were able to continuously learn that there were so many more customer segments and women of all different ages and backgrounds, going through different journeys, that could really benefit from a healing pad like this. So I will say that you know we had a pretty good idea that you know, every woman of any age could benefit from this. But definitely through those conversations we learned that there were even more opportunities, and I'll just give you a very brief example. So, for example, the breast cancer industry absolutely loves this pads.
Troy Sutton:We partnered with several different nonprofit breast cancer organizations and women are using the pads on their breast cancer journey, and we always knew that that would be a key market. But we also received feedback asking if women could replace their prosthetic with one of our healing pads, not only so they could benefit from the heating or the cooling therapy, but it was also. Our pad is much lighter, much more comfortable and it's much less expensive than a multi-hundred dollar prosthesis. So that was a new opportunity that we learned about. Was women actually wanting to use our healing pads as a breast prosthesis as well? So that's just been part of the business journey, right Learning. You know what are the target markets, who could really benefit from this, and so on.
Michele Folan:You know. I have to say, though, as a mother and son duo, your partnership is very unique in this space. How did that dynamic influence help with the development of the product and your company's direction? Because you know, troy, you've got the engineering background. Debbie, what is your background? How did you play into this?
Debbie Sutton:Well, I'll just take a step back. I think, as a male and a female, I think we can cover a lot more than if it was, you know, just one or the other. And I'm so very proud of Troy because he really is bridging the gap between men and women. Men need to know about what women go through and he is. He's out, you know, out in front and he's talking to guys and he's talking to women with their guys telling guys on. You know all of our social media, you media get involved.
Debbie Sutton:It's not something that's taboo or women's breasts have been stigmatized since the beginning of time and there's a lot more that's actually going on in there and that women cope with and manage and just handle in their day-to-day lives. So I think my background I'm former many, many careers, but I was in sales. I did have a family importing and exporting warehousing business for commodities and I was the only woman in that market at the time. So I really know what. You know when there are challenges to be faced and how to deal with them and how to pivot. I think Troy enjoys my input and also you know different thinking, maybe different points of view that I might have, that he wouldn't have. So anyway, yeah, I mean, I'm thrilled and honored to be working with him.
Michele Folan:So you know the mission's deeply rooted in helping women who suffer from acute and chronic breast pain, because there's both right. There's women who have chronic breast pain all the time, and then we have the more acute type of situation. So give us a sense of the types of conditions where you all would love to have the healing bra placed.
Debbie Sutton:Well, I'll just talk, just talk briefly, and then you can add, troy, um.
Debbie Sutton:Going back to what you were saying before, uh, this, this product, and the pads especially, would be beneficial to all women, all ages, like you said before, the youngest gals who are having monthly pain, and you know um, to women who are pregnant and their breasts are changing and then breastfeeding, which can be difficult, it's not always, you know, a walk in the park and we don't want women to stop because it's painful or they have mastitis or they can't, they don't feel they can, you know, continue the process.
Debbie Sutton:We want them to continue, as you know, as best they can. And then to all of the surgeries breast surgeries, whether it's cosmetic or or breast cancer related, whether it's small, like biopsies, or, you know, lumpectomies not that that's small, but you know, just all the way to mastectomies and beyond. And then, of course, it's the menopausal women where I fit in and I use these pads. With this heat especially that we are experiencing, I have such relief and you can see some of my posts on social media where I actually just come inside, go to the freezer, get the pads and insert them and I have my ah moment, oh, and I love that.
Michele Folan:You know you're outside, you're taking your two mile walk and it's 92 degrees out. What a great way to cool off quickly. And yeah, yeah, yeah, I love that. Yes, it's true.
Troy Sutton:Absolutely. Yeah. One of our ambassadors is four-time Olympian, Joetta Clark from North New Jersey, and when she jogs and you say two-mile walk, she'll do like a 12-mile jog, because that's just. She's an absolutely incredible woman. She just set the new North American indoor track record for the 200 meter for her age group, so extremely inspiring. So she'll go for a jog and wear her favorite sports bra and then as soon as she comes back she does the exact same thing, where she already has two of the healing pads in the freezer and so then she'll just easily be able to insert them while she's already wearing her sports bra. And then while she's cooling down, recovering, having her little protein shake, or sometimes she goes right to her computer and send some emails, because she gets some thoughts come to her when she's jogging, so she's able to use the cool to help recover, help cool down, make herself a little bit more comfortable with that immediate relief, like you said.
Michele Folan:I love this. I think what you all started I don't think you had a clue. Honestly, you know all the different areas where this could be of great impact in women's lives. I want to take a quick break and when we get back I want to see if you could share with us a couple of stories or testimonials. How many drugstore products are you going to try before you finally decide you deserve better for your skin? Listen, if your skincare drawer is overflowing with half-used bottles that over-promised and under-delivered, it's time for a change.
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Troy Sutton:Absolutely so. I will start with one of our very first testimonials from Anna Crow, who is the founder of Sharing and Caring, which is one of New York's largest breast cancer communities. She is a two-time breast cancer survivor and a certified breast prosthetic fitter. So I actually met her very early on when we just started this company, during the idea stage, and we were very lucky to have Anna Crail advise us on different aspects such as the market and the product and rearranging different aspects, like where would the shoulder clasps be and different physical feedback like that. But once we were able to improve the prototype and the product and let her try it, she loved it so much that she was the very first breast cancer organization to endorse us and since then we partnered with them, volunteering at different events and donating bras and really building out our community with theirs, so that way we could get even more feedback and help give the bra to even more women. So Anna Crowe absolutely loves the bra and fully recommends it.
Troy Sutton:I also would say it's a little bit biased, but my sister-in-law she is a family member but she is also a doctor and she recently gave birth to our first girl of the family. My niece is almost seven months old. Thank you, we're delighted. So she has a two and a half month old boy and a seven a two and a half year old boy and a seven month old girl. And so during both pregnancies and while she was breastfeeding both children, she would use the pads.
Troy Sutton:And so first, since the pads can be heated or cooled, she would warm the pads. She has two pairs, so she would warm the pads before she needed to nurse or pump to help increase milk production, increase flow, make it a little bit more comfortable and easier for her. And then afterwards, when she was done, she would then insert the cool pads to help with any inflammation, her pain, and then, from a medical perspective, she and other women would use this for engorgement if ducts are clogged or mastitis or biting it. With the latching aspect I mean something that I've learned right, that my mom has talked about with other women in this on similar journeys, is you know what a beautiful concept breastfeeding is and that it's something that really builds the bond between the mother and the child. But it can be quite uncomfortable and very painful, and if that we don't want pain to prevent women from having such a beautiful and emotional bonding moment with their child and nutritional as well, and nutritional right, and so that's why we so.
Troy Sutton:my sister-in-law's feedback is that these pads really allowed, it gave her that additional, significant, extra boost and comfortability to continue.
Michele Folan:I'm cracking up. You two are like an old married couple because you're finishing each other's sentences.
Troy Sutton:She wants to talk to me. I know she wants to answer my questions and I'm answering hers.
Michele Folan:Typically, yeah, no, I think it's kind of refreshing. Actually, I don't do a lot of interviews with two people and I've done them when they've both been remote, but having you two together here, it's really. It's kind of cute how you guys bounce off each other. It's really kind of fun. And you've done this before. You've done interviews before Troy. Something else that just a little takeaway here is how comfortable you are in having this conversation. I think you said something earlier about making men more aware of all the aspects of breast pain and, like we said, it can be something that can start very, very young and it goes all the way through our later adulthood, and that's more of a comment than a question. But do you find that you know you're taking something that's I don't want to say so much taboo but that can be uncomfortable for men to talk about and kind of making it just normal? Has that been kind of fun?
Troy Sutton:Uh, yes, yeah, yeah. And the short answer is yes. And the reason that I'm smirking is because, like, yes, this, you know, breasts are, have been stigmatized and sexualized right and for for you know, from men's perspectives. And so you ask, like, how has it been for me? Well, I'm talking about it with my mom, so add that additional layer right Of sensitivity and, just again, like from a business perspective, I knew very like in the first week that we launched, that I would need to get over that stigma, right, and especially talking about bras with my mom every single day. I knew that, you know, I had to mature right past that conversation and realize that this was something that every woman deals with, right. Once you realize that breasts are significantly more important than just you know for what men see them as, that's when you realize that you know women have to deal with so much more than we realize. And women have always been the caretakers right of the family. They're always so used to soldiering on through pain in order to continue providing and helping family.
Troy Sutton:And through this journey I have learned just how prevalent breast health is, whether it's through nursing and pregnant women or through breast cancer.
Troy Sutton:I mean, every week, my mom and I are meeting women, younger and younger, who are diagnosed with breast cancer and the craziest part is that they don't have the BRCA gene or they don't have family history and they do live a healthy, active lifestyle.
Troy Sutton:So what really is it? The air, the water? There are no answers, and it's great that the science is getting better, the technology is getting significantly better to diagnose and screen for this early, but it seems that breast cancer or different breast issues is just so much more prevalent, and so we're really trying to embody that in our messaging throughout our community that men need to ask are you okay, what's wrong? If I never asked my mom why she was in breast pain, we would not be here, we wouldn't have this product. So I think it's just really important, right for men to be able to ask the uncomfortable questions or ask the questions that they don't know right, and just be open to learning and being a sponge right of information, because we've been doing this for a few years now and I just I learn something new every week about the industry. That's really helpful and beneficial for us.
Michele Folan:I want to talk a little bit about the actual pads, because you've put some elements and materials into your design that make them really very effective. Can you talk a little bit about that process and what you were able to land on in terms of something that can be heated and cooled?
Troy Sutton:Absolutely, so I can talk about it while my mom shows it real quick. And so these are the healing pads. They are the nude beige in color. And so a couple of years ago I mentioned Anna Krill from the breast cancer organization earlier. So we were working with her and she is a certified breast prosthetic fitter, so she would actually create molds for her clients who needed a single or double prosthesis, and so Anna actually was able to graciously allowed us to use her mold to design the pad.
Troy Sutton:And so, again, like I mentioned earlier, we all have those blue gel ice packs at home, so we were able to use that blue gel pack. We actually made the gel material a little bit better on the inside and then we were able to insert that into this pad. So it's shaped based on a certified breast prosthetic fitter and it's very comfortable material. And because the gel pack is on the bottom, on the top and then one in the middle, but it's very comfortable material, and because the gel pack is on the bottom, on the top and then one in the middle, but it's covered by this very soft cotton blend material, so this can safely be worn directly on the skin with any bra, so the healing bra becomes any bra with these pads.
Michele Folan:Got it All right, and then is there sizing involved with this.
Troy Sutton:So, as of right now, this is the only size that we have for this pad. So I will say that our bra and pad manufacturer is based in Linden, new Jersey. They are an FDA regulated facility Not that this product needs FDA approval, but it goes through all the same quality assurance and checks during the manufacturing process, which is wonderful. And so, through that FDA process, these pads, the gel packs, can be safely warmed in the microwave or they could be cooled in the refrigerator or freezer and then reused multiple times, many, many times.
Michele Folan:Okay, so how long can you safely put them in the microwave? Because I know I've got an eye pack or like a eye mask and I know if I put that in the microwave for more than 10 seconds it's bloody hot. So how long can you heat those?
Debbie Sutton:Yes, yes, Well, this is the same idea basically putting it in, but I would recommend putting it in for 10 seconds to start and then feeling it on your wrist and then putting it in. But you, I would recommend putting it in for 10 seconds to start and then feeling it on your wrist and then putting it back in, because all microwaves are different with the wattage. Some are really super, super strong, some are rather weak. So you really have to play around and you may travel with these and say you know you use them at home, but then you may take them in the little pouch that it comes in and take them to work. So you're, or you know someone else's home or wherever you're going, and that microwave might be different, a different strength. So you would just, you know, play with it a little bit just to get the right temperature.
Debbie Sutton:I would not recommend putting them in for two minutes. That's all clearly defined in the instructions. And they are hand washable, just to let you know about that too. They can just be washed, you know, right, with your hand, soap in your sink, just pat dry and just let them air dry.
Michele Folan:So that was going to be one of my next questions. And then, how long do they stay cool? So, say you, you put them in the freezer for you know a couple hours. How long do they typically stay cool?
Debbie Sutton:Well, just the other day I had another aha moment. I thought I put them in. I came in from being outside when it was very warm, came in, put them inside and I said, okay, I'll be back to check in 30 minutes. Of course I got distracted and I didn't come back for 30 minutes and then, when I did come back, I said, oh my gosh, it's an hour and I didn't feel cold or chilled, which is really the wonderful surprise about these pads. But I put my hand in and I could still feel that the tissue was cool. So it's a very slow absorption of the cool or warm, not like a heating pad or like an ice pack, which would be like abrupt. This is like a slow absorption and then it just lasts. So I would not say that it would normally last an hour, but at least a half an hour would be. You know where I would safely say it would last, but who knows? I mean that that was really a nice surprise for me.
Michele Folan:Well, that's typically what they say. You know, 20, 30 minutes is usually the sweet spot for getting the most out of like cold packs and that sort of thing, so that kind of makes sense. You mentioned to me that you've kind of had a little bit of an aha with how you're selling your product. Can you talk about that a little bit?
Troy Sutton:Absolutely so. One of the key aspects of the healing bra with the healing pad is that the healing bra was designed around the healing pad, so the pocket, the location of the pocket, the shape of the pocket inside of the healing bra was specifically for the healing pad. So we thought that we needed to sell the pads with the bras. Now, through our conversations with women and through our partnerships with these different organizations, we have come to realize that women typically already have a favorite bra, and that could be women of all different ages, of all different stages of life. So it could be a training bra to a sports bra, to a nursing bra, to a surgical mastectomy bra. And also the hospitals and the doctors that we're working with typically already recommend a bra.
Troy Sutton:So instead of us trying to sell a bra that may or may not be wonderful for the woman, we are now selling the pads by themselves, because women can use these pads with any bra to make their existing bra the healing bra. And so that's why we're really focusing on these pads right now, because they are able to be taken to work or taken out and about. Our mission statement, I will say, is empowering women with comfort and confidence. So really, the goal of these pads is to relieve breast pain and discomfort and therefore empower the woman to go about her daily routine, whether that's going to work, running errands, doing chores. You can wear these pads discreetly in your existing bra and get that cool or warming therapy on the go and out and about.
Michele Folan:Okay, and I love this because I don't know if, back in February, when you launched that, you were even thinking this, but your ability to pivot and to flex quickly, I think, is a should be a key attribute of every entrepreneur, just because there's always things that you're going to be learning and there are always going to be curveballs that are thrown your way when you're least expecting it.
Troy Sutton:So I will say that's one of the great aspects of working with my mom is that she and I will be cooking dinner, like last night, and while I'm chopping, I'm like wait, I have a question about this. Can you give me some thoughts on this pad or this bra, so we're able to talk and I'm able to get that real-time feedback on the spot, which is one of the benefits of working with my mom. But back to being resilient as an entrepreneur. It's not just physical, with changing the business model or changing the pad or the structure of that, but also mentally. We the business model, or changing the pad or the structure of that, but also mentally.
Troy Sutton:We're going up against some very large companies that have similar products but definitely are not as good, based on feedback from their customers and ours.
Troy Sutton:And so just knowing that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and whenever we're down in the dumps, we'll read through some of the reviews and the feedback from different women about how they're using this bra and it's helping them in their daily life, and that's really what's inspiring. So I think what I'm getting at is you have to be positive through the entire process, even though there are definitely some valleys that we dip into, but always looking at the bright side and then also celebrating your wins. My mom and I, we're a startup and we're on the uphill battle of building a business which is exciting but uphill battle, and so we are constantly. Every week, something great comes our way, whether it's a new partnership or a new review or testimonial from a woman who loves it. So really like celebrating our wins and patting ourselves on the back when we have earned. It is key and that really adds to like the resiliency of who we are and who this business is.
Michele Folan:Well, and you're building community too. There is a community to be built around breast pain and different conditions that women have when it comes to breast health, and then you have a blog, and all of that, too, on your website.
Troy Sutton:And I will say that, if I can just jump in about the community, I mean that's really one of the key aspects of what we're trying to do. So since February, we've partnered with five breast cancer organizations, multiple baby and new mother organizations, hospitals, private practices and my mom and I we're from a family of doctors, but we'll be the first to say that we are not doctors. So if a woman asks us for medical advice or feedback, through our partnerships we're able to bridge the gap and connect them with doctors who can specifically answer those questions. So that's really like a key part of the community that we're trying to build, which has been absolutely wonderful experience.
Debbie Sutton:Yeah, really, really, and humbling too. We were just at McGee Women's Hospital up in Pittsburgh hospital up in Pittsburgh and we did two events and one of them was a pop-up in their big, you know, in their lobby and it was just. It was really like eye-opening, humbling, happy, sad, all of those, because all of the women coming in for whatever problem they had. And we had Nick you to our right, you know, with those mothers going in and out to breastfeed or just see the baby and just like right, it was just such a wide range of patients and patient supporters walking past our table and the interest was so great and it was men also with their partner and we were teaching them and we had other men that came up on their own. It was really, really inspiring and it's just we're here to help in any little way that we can I'd love to know what's next for you both?
Michele Folan:What are plans to expand the product line or develop complementary wellness products?
Troy Sutton:Absolutely Well. First and foremost, we want to offer more types of pads, so that would include larger pads as well as flatter pads that don't have as much of a curve. So that's really like from the product perspective. That's the direction that we're looking to go, as from like the community perspective, we would love to talk with every hospital, every breast cancer organization, every nursing mother organization. We table at different baby fairs where we're able to talk to pregnant and breastfeeding women, which is always incredible. So my mom and I love doing the in-person community branding. So we're absolutely looking to attend more events and participate as well. Looking to attend more events and participate as well, and then also just looking to scale our online presence. Like I mentioned earlier, we only launched in February, so we are still relatively new. So we're building our social media platform, but we would love to help scale that as well, so that way, we can partner with more organizations and reach more women as well.
Michele Folan:You know, I just thought of something. So we get invited to these baby showers and you, if you know that the expecting mother is going to be nursing, why not give them a set of healing pads as a shower gift?
Debbie Sutton:It's a great question, and we wish that every woman or man going to a baby shower or knowing someone who's pregnant would do just that. Yeah.
Troy Sutton:A few of my friends. You know girlfriends from college who are now having babies and they are purchasing the pads amongst the group for themselves. And you know, when I first mentioned this product to them and talked about it a few years ago, everybody had their doubts and they weren't sure is this legit? Or, you know, is Troy actually going to make this, you know, a success? And you know, here we are. They're texting me like holy moly, we didn't know they're working like. We didn't know that we actually needed this.
Troy Sutton:And that also was a very eye-opening lesson for us, because we just assume that women know that they should use warm or cool therapy, but if they're not taught about it or if they don't have an experience with that, then they don't know the benefits of warm therapy when they are nursing. So, absolutely, it can make a wonderful gift and it's also a very unique gift, right, which are great and we all need in our house, but it's something that the woman can actually use daily to help not only her health but also the baby's health, potentially right and the you know the emotional aspect like that. So it does make a wonderful gift. We the pads are available on our website, which is just thehealingbrascom, and so we are also running discounts and weekly promotions, so we would love to make that a reality. There are baby fairs that are using our pads as part of their care packages, so it's being adopted in different aspects, like that.
Debbie Sutton:Yes, you'll be at one this weekend coming up.
Troy Sutton:This upcoming weekend.
Debbie Sutton:In what the can you say?
Troy Sutton:Yeah, yeah, we can absolutely say it's the Baby Fair event at the King of Prussia Mall in Philadelphia this Sunday and it's going to be a great event. There should be hundreds of vendors and thousands of young families there, so we're very excited.
Michele Folan:Yeah, that's great that you're actually getting out in the community to promote the product. I think that's really where you need to be. And then, just on a personal note, so besides spending your weekends at baby fairs, I would love to ask you what keeps you grounded? What are each of your personal self-care non-negotiables Me?
Debbie Sutton:first. Well, I thought I was retired so well that didn't last too long. So I had to do a little bit of a pivot in my activities and daily planning, but I'm thrilled to be doing that. But I do try to take care of myself as best I can every day, with eating well and going now back to the gym, and so I'm feeling fit with that. I have a bicycle that I've started riding. I have my pads that I can use when I come back inside if I'm so I'm feeling fit with that. I have a bicycle that I've started riding. I have my pads that I can use when I come back inside. I just, I take all my supplements and I'm just. I'm doing everything I can to stay healthy and focused and grounded and peaceful.
Troy Sutton:Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I think like in this day and age, there's such a almost overwhelming amount of information about what you should do and what we recommend for your health and wellness where it can almost you get paralysis by analysis and like you just overthink it, that you end up not doing anything anyway, and I think that we just can't forget about the basics, right, like going for a walk, trying to get some sunlight, breathing in that fresh air, right, that really, just you know, helps your body. There are legitimate physical and psychological benefits that have been proven right For going for walks and sunlight and things like that. I think getting a good little sweat, whether it's going for a walk right Outside in this heat or, you know, a workout at the gym, is great for your body and that's also great to reset your mentality.
Troy Sutton:There's a very real phenomenon of eye strain when you're just staring at your computer and that leads to headaches, which leads to less productivity. And this was all from my previous background, but it's really important that people take the time to invest in themselves. Obviously, everybody's different. Every body is different, so you really need to listen to your body and understand what it needs, whether it's more water, more sleep, more exercise, more food in certain situations. So I think it's just really important that everybody takes the time to invest in themselves and their health.
Michele Folan:That's so well said and I will echo that with just saying listening, know listening to your body, listen to what it needs and take the breaks during the day. You know you talk about being in front of your computer and I tell my clients all the time take exercise snacks, as I call them, where you know you're in front of your laptop or whatever you're doing. Get up, stand next to your desk and do 10 squats, right? So it's just doing the little things throughout the day that kind of keep you energized.
Debbie Sutton:So thanks for sharing that.
Michele Folan:Troy and Debbie Sutton. This was a very fun conversation, but one that I know we needed to have to bring a new topic forward and appreciate you being here today. Thank you so much.
Troy Sutton:Thank you so much for having us. It's really a pleasure.
Debbie Sutton:Wonderful platform for us to spread our news and our product and our hopes and our mission.
Michele Folan:Hey, thanks for tuning in. Please rate and review the show where you listen to the podcast. And did you know that Asking for a Friend is available now to listen on YouTube? You can subscribe to the podcast there as well. Your support is appreciated and it helps others find the show. Thank you.