Pulse October 2017 | Page 50

SUCCESSSTORIES INSPIRING TALES OF STARTUPS, GROWTH AND OVERCOMING HARDSHIPS Giving Women the Freedom to Beat Breast Cancer n IrA KAgANovSKy Founder/cEO Free brands, LLc Hendeson, Nevada n e are paranoid about everything; what we eat, where we live, our By genetic history. Perhaps any one ASHLEy ALt of those factors, or a combination of them, contributes to the development of cancer, but maybe the real culprit is stressing over those things. While the survival rate of breast cancer is 90 percent if caught early, the best thing we can do is continue to be proactive and raise awareness, but are we doing enough? Someone a few years back put it best – “I don’t have time for cancer.” That someone was a dear friend to Ira Kaganovsky, founder of Freedom natural deodorant, ISPA member and mother of three girls. Operating out of Las Vegas, Kaganovsky is making natural normal through her all-natural antiperspirants. When Kaganovsky’s best friend Cindy (one out of three friends diagnosed with breast cancer in an 18-month time span) was told by her doctor to stop using antiperspirants upon her diagnosis, Kaganovsky, stunned, immediately stopped using them and began searching for natural options instead. After frequenting her local grocery store in search of natural deodorants, Kaganovsky concluded that they simply did not work; they weren’t absorbing sweat, they didn’t smell great and they weren’t lasting more than a few hours. This continued for a year before Free Brands Inc. was born. “I turned into a mad scientist,” Kaganovsky said. “I turned my kitchen into a lab where I was melting beeswax and coconut oil, W “When Kaganovsky’s best friend [was] diagnosed with breast cancer [she] was told by her doctor to stop using antiperspirants, Kaganovsky, stunned, immediately stopped using them and began searching for natural options instead.” 48 PULSE ■ October 2017 researching all the right ingredients – what smelled right, what looked right, figuring out how to make lavender citrus smoother.” Kaganovsky gave her first homemade product to Cindy, receiving a phone call from her two days later crying because she didn’t wake up in a pile of sweat, she smelled good and “her kids weren’t afraid of her.” After six months of intensive chemotherapy, Cindy’s skin was reacting poorly to the treatment, she was losing her hair and she was thrust into early menopause. This antiper- spirant made her feel normal again amidst the challenging circumstances. While there is no proof or direct correlation linking the use of unnatural antiperspirant to breast cancer, Cindy’s doctor’s expla- nation of using something somewhat toxic that close to your lymph nodes was enough for Kaganovsky to pursue her business. “If you aren’t letting your body get all the toxins out of the body, then where are they going?” Kaganovsky asked herself. “I don’t care what all of the ‘green’ bloggers are saying, natural deodorants sold at drug stores don’t work.” Wanting answers, Kaganovsky sought out a few local doctors, even chemists, asking their opinion on the leading cause of cancer when they told her, “they don’t know what causes cancer.” “It’s like the high heel debate,” Kaganovsky told us. “They tell (cONtINUEd ON PAgE 50) Kaganovsky with her three daughters, who are constantly inspiring her work.