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Designer drugs: Pricey pills become statement jewelry

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In case you missed it in Tuesday morning’s Los Angeles Times, the LATExtra includes a fun, fashion-related story about a 61-year-old cancer survivor from Altadena who makes and sells a line of jewelry crafted from expensive but unused cancer-fighting pharmaceuticals.

According to Bob Pool’s article, Susan Braig traces the genesis of the line -- called Designer Drug Jewelry, back to 2004 when she started chemotherapy to treat breast cancer, and found herself forking over $500 in out-of-pocket expenses for her first round of medication.

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‘I looked at the drugstore receipt and then at the little pills and wondered if they were precious gems,’ Braig said.

She first turned the pills into jewelry for a 2007 medically themed art exhibition and performance event organized by the NewTown Pasadena Foundation, for which she had crafted a princess tiara encrusted with her leftover cancer meds. Pool says Braig has been making and selling her handiwork ever since.

Braig’s pieces sell for between $15 and $150 at craft fairs (she lists upcoming appearances on the line’s Facebook page.

If you have the time, you should read Pool’s much-more-detailed article in full (it also includes a video); Braig’s story makes turning lemons into lemonade seem like child’s play.

-- Adam Tschorn

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