Breast cancer survivor Eileen Keenan Skrobacz, a 67-year-old retired high school English teacher from Olean, New York, developed the “Robes for Comfort” initiative after realizing during her radiation treatment that standard hospital gowns took a psychological toll. With over 250,000 patients receiving a breast cancer diagnosis in 2022, many face similar discomfort.
During radiation at the Mildred Milliman Radiation Medicine Center, Keenan Skrobacz described the required hospital gowns as “big, they’re itchy…they’re not comfortable.” More troubling was the mental impact. “Every time I put on a gown, I feel sick,” she recalled. A simple question to an office manager in May—“Can I bring my own robe?”—changed her treatment experience. The nurse responded, “I don’t see why not.” Keenan Skrobacz found an affordable robe online for $10, which proved to be what she called “truly a game-changer” for her mental health during her 15 radiation sessions.
Other patients noticed her change in demeanor and began asking about wearing their own robes. During her post-surgery appointments in Buffalo, she became known as “The Robe Woman.” This nickname spurred her realization: “I think I know why I got cancer. I think I’m supposed to do something about these robes.”
Keenan Skrobacz launched “Robes for Comfort” to provide free robes to women undergoing breast cancer treatment, aiming to “wrap people in comfort” during treatment. She irons a signature small bird design onto each robe. The Olean General Hospital Foundation partnered with the initiative, which raised more than $20,000 in 24 hours on Giving Tuesday in December 2025—far exceeding her anticipated $1,000 goal. Those funds translated into 2,000 robes for area patients. Keenan Skrobacz plans to return to the Milliman Center in the coming months cancer-free to ensure women receive robes at the start of treatment, with hopes to expand efforts to nearby cities such as Buffalo and Cleveland. The venture’s motto is “Because healing deserves dignity.”
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://us.headtopics.com/news/how-a-simple-question-about-a-robe-sparked-an-innovative-78344008