A cancer patient making a difference, one shirt at a time
CAMBRIDGE, Md. – “To do this, is bigger than me, so it has to be done,” says Ty Wongus, owner and creator of PortLife T-shirts.
One cancer patient is making a difference, one shirt at a time. More specifically, her homemade PortLife T-shirts. A shirt designed for cancer patients who have a port in their chest; making chemotherapy sessions, easier, and more comfortable. “I’m allowing people to make life a little bit easier, making cancer a little bit more fashionable, allowing people to feel a little better. You look good you feel better, that’s it,” says Wongus.
Ty Wongus has stage 4 cervical cancer, and during her two year battle with it, she tells us she managed to start her own business and patent her shirts. She says, although it’s a simple design to allow easier access to chest ports, it’s more about helping others through one of the hardest times of their lives. Wongus tells us, “I have my down days, I have my up days, but I’m going to keep going because somebody out there needs what I have.”
Her wife Kendal Wongus says, it’s difficult to see her deal with such adversity, but seeing her push through and touch others lives, is what she loves about her. “During some of those really low moments, she really gets up and pushes and does things for others,” says Kendal.
However, Ty tells 47 ABC, something as simple as her t-shirts can touch patients emotionally. She says they make it worth it, and that’s why she does it full time. “I’m going to be in every cancer center, on every oncologist’s desk, I’m going to be on every cancer patient’s chest,” says Ty.
Although she doesn’t know when her journey will end, she says she just wants to leave her mark on the world. “We’re just trying to change lives and help people, one person at a time,” says Kendal. Ty adds, “That’s how we live forever, we live forever by people remembering who we are and what we’ve done.”
Ty and wife Kendal also tell us, the highlight of the business is just hearing other people’s stories, and becoming a support for them. She hopes her brand becomes a movement, and she can continue with her business for years to come, and hopefully pass it down to her children.
Ty also has other shirts for sale as well, ‘support shirts,’ with proceeds going towards cancer research. If you want to hear more about Ty’s story or want a shirt yourself, just head to her website.
