Breast Cancer Survivor Launches Fashion and Beauty Marketplace Catered to Patients, Survivors

When Virginia Carnesale was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer in 2018, she says it was often hard to find the things she needed. These needs also changed depending on which treatment she was undergoing, and they changed again in the various stages of recovery. She often had to shop at a bunch of different places before checking everything off her list. Knowing how difficult it was to find everything she needed, she decided to provide a one-stop shop for other patients and survivors. That’s why she launched Stage in early 2022.

Stage – a marketplace for breast cancer patients, survivors, and their supporters – offers beauty and style products, home goods, gifts, and a community with expert advice and stories from other patients. Carnesale hopes this selection makes it easier for others to get what they need than it was for her throughout her journey.

She says, “I didn’t need a pink ribbon. I needed to know how to make a wig look natural enough to wear with confidence; how to adjust my diet for the best odds of beating cancer; which nontoxic household products would make my home safer. Most importantly, I needed support, information, and advice so that I could take on this journey with courage, grace, and style.”

To help cover all these areas, Stage offers hair accessories, loungewear, sleepwear, intimates, and swim wear, as well as non-toxic home cleaning supplies, clean beauty, and more. The company also aims to partner with other brands led by survivors.

That’s not the only way Stage gives back to the breast cancer community, however. A portion of the proceeds of each sale goes toward organizations connected with patient needs, from financial assistance and fertility preservation to therapies for both breast and ovarian cancer patients.

Carnesale says, “The life-saving surgeries, treatments and side effects can be tough on a woman’s self esteem. I created Stage to be a source of inspiration, calm and confidence, peppered with a little sass and levity to women walking this road — and for others to learn how to support her in the ways she needs it most.”

That support can be found on the advice portion of the company’s website, which includes important information for every stage of a breast cancer battle, from the initial diagnosis to post-treatment. Each piece is reviewed by a medical professional for accuracy.

In addition to helping patients and survivors, Carnesale says she hopes Stage expands the breast cancer discussion beyond October. To check out the marketplace, click here.