Alice Tong, Founder of LooopClothing

I am a Stage 4 Aggressive Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma survivor (twice! in 18months!!) I live with my husband and our 2 rescue doggies near Seattle, Washington. 

Sept 2014, I received my membership to the exclusive Lymphoma club. It changed me, opened my eyes to real physical human strength and mental endurance. When it happened again in Jan 2016, I knew the only chance to survive was to soldier on.

The 'Why me?' question never came up. I knew it was pointless to ask the question so I decided to turn it into a learning experience. My personal belief, problems are preludes to unimaginable opportunities and I began with the 'Sweatshirt'. It was a welcome distraction and became a saving grace project.  

I was undergoing aggressive chemo treatment, with PICC line, warm & normal clothing didn't exist. I found few clothing options on the internet, but none of them was meeting my infusion needs. I needed it to work like normal clothing, easy off easy on while I was connected to an infusion pump. There was none in the market so I knew I have to do something. I knew nothing about clothing design but I didn't care. I took some of my old clothing apart, watched sewing videos and successfully made a prototype, tested during chemo infusion hospitalization and made revisions to what it is today.

The sweatshirt made treatment a whole lot more comfortable because I was not physically and mentally suffering from flimsy gowns or heavy blankets over my shoulders. It made me feel empowered cause I was in control of my situation. I didn't need anyone to help me pull on or off the sweatshirt. My nurses were amazed of the functionality and how it didn't compromise medical accessibility. Most importantly, it made going on small walks or to the bathroom feeling safer. It worked well with PORT access too; I tested it during my relapse treatments and Stem Cell transplant. (Watch the video in Design Story and you will understand!)

My goal for the future is to help change the perception of patient wear. Medicine has advanced so is the need of patient wear. Patient confidence helps with recovery and clothing can provide patient confidence.

Fighters need amours!