We recently connected with Kellie Whitton and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kellie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

Spring of 2020 was not my time. The world had shut down in March for COVID, my kids were 2 and 5, and I felt a lump in my breast. Quite a difference from “all clear come back in a year” I’d gotten 2 months prior at my annual mammogram. I had my first phone call with my doctor who said mammograms miss cancer about 20% of the time (!!!!) so in the middle of this, she wanted to schedule an ultrasound.

I couldn’t bring anyone, I was all alone. And hearing that phrase multiple times over the next months–I knew deep in my core how right she was. No husbands at the mammogram, no kids waiting the 20 mins for daily radiation treatments, no escape from 3 surgeries and miles of text messages asking how I was. I didn’t know how I was. If someone had asked, I’d have traded my life for a few months before my diagnosis without a single question.

But then I started asking the question of myself when I got into chemo–what did I need? I knew there were things I needed but had no idea what they were. I asked nurses, friends, family, anyone I could find but the best support were the people I didn’t know but who reached out to me. Survivors. They came with a laundry list of things that were needed. Not crazy weird things, just the basics. No chemicals, dyes, fragrances in the products. My medicine cabinet had to be leveled but just for a bit. I was looking on amazon daily for the lists of things I needed while friends and family were sending me gift baskets of food I couldn’t eat and flowers I had to throw away. There was a need and I wanted to fill it.

Three years into the process and more than 1,000 kits sold, I knew we were onto something. I knew that we found something that touched the mind, body and sprit of women going through treatment. The physical ramifications were challenging but the mental and emotional and spiritual questions were real and we worked to address those, too. We have designed boxes inside and out. We have instructions on how to use each item and when. We want our kits to be a hug in a box–one that leaves you with more answers than questions.

Cancer is not a fun word to say, and it’s not anything that I would wish on another person in life. But when you get something terrible, you deal with it. Not in a negative way that depletes your energy but in a beautifully positive way that can help yourself and others in the process.

Kellie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Carakit.com does gift kits for women in chemo, surgery and radiation. We have 3 levels at each level of treatment, but items can also be combined into a custom kit for a friend, neighbor or loved one.

The items are primarily free from chemicals, dyes, fragrances, sulfates and more. Because everyone’s body gets challenged while in chemo, especially in a way that dries out cells in every part of the body, our kits take intense, over-the-counter products to replenish moisture in any way they can. This can be from skin creams for the body, face and hands to electrolyte drops to add moisture to any beverage, to pajamas that only button from the front to avoid lifting your arms over your head after surgery. There are so many more items that are specific to the post-treatment journey and we include and explain everyone.

Carakitcares.com offers the same kits but via an online give/receive mechanism that gives out free kits in exchange for a donation. We have found numerous women in this spot–needing help but not being able to access anything in the short term as they’re on disability due to treatment. We want to help them, too.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Life is a constant pivot. I was a news broadcaster then pivoted into entertainment, then into marketing from publicity because that felt more correct to me–finding the truth in a film story and letting the public know why they should see it. But the biggest pivot was into this role, founding this company, without any knowledge of the details of how to run this type of a small business. And it was difficult but not insurmountable.

Some days I get challenged beyond what I should be able to give. I want to do more and gift more, always. But the truth of life is the in betweens, the moments you have with yourself and your family, the times you’re putting into learning and growing. We forget this in a million different ways in the day-to-day of our lives, but it’s critical. It’s crucial. To know yourself as a being and not just a number.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Growing up, I thought celebrity was everything. I’d watch the entertainment shows at night from my college room in Missouri, trying to figure out how I’d get there. It wasn’t easy but I did. And that’s the part that shifted for me–believing that celebrity was everything.

I knew that celebrity could earn you attention, and that part hasn’t changed, but the idea of how and why certainly has. Singers, actors, artists, every field where you let yourself shine through–that’s not enough anymore. You need to have a “brand” that’s clearly defined. To have attention become the goal is the issue. It should always be about what you do not how you do it. And that’s something that has shifted for me exponentially.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.carakit.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/carakits
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/carakits