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The former equity portfolio manager switched career gears in 2002, two years after her mother succumbed to colon cancer.
“At the time, the Internet was really new for consumers,” Malin said. “My mom found some products, though.”
One was Haelan 951, a nutritional drink.
Another was Thymuskin shampoo, which helps hair retention and regrowth during chemotherapy.
But her mother, who was into healthy living, yoga, and meditation as far back as the ’60s, had to really search for the few helpful products she could find.
Malin, who also lost her beloved grandmother to breast cancer in 1988, witnessed both women struggle with treatment.
She resolved to make life easier for other cancer patients.
Malin's dream was to create a one-stop shopping site for products that would reduce and relieve the side effects of chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery.
“Since 2000, there have been so many products introduced to help cancer patients,” Malin said. “A lot of them have been created by individuals who have gone through treatment.”
Malin, the mother of three grown children, started Lots to Live For 14 years ago with only a few of the products her mother had liked.
Today she carries 100 products from QueaseEase and Mouth Kote to BreastComfort Slings and much more.
The best-seller is RADX, a cream for radiation burns, dermatitis and recall, the latter referring to reactions people get even after their course of radiation is done.
“RADX has lidocaine so it’s very helpful for people who have pain,” Malin said.
“It has aloe, too. People like it and reorder it,” she added. “People with pain say when they use it, they can sleep.”
Another great seller is CoolMagic Gel Sheets, also for radiation burns, Malin said. They are a dressing that’s put in the refrigerator, cut to size, and left on the skin.
Many radiation therapists and oncology nurses recommend Aquaphor, according to Malin.
But patients look for other solutions that work, she said.
Malin finds satisfaction in aggregating the products she carries.
“Even though we’re in the New York metropolitan area and have access to many things,” Malin said, “a lot of these products are not sold in retail places because they’re small. This is a niche.”
To catch up with Malin’s blogs, CLICK HERE and HERE.
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