Posts from 2012
Sadly, cancer touches so many lives and women are a large percentage of those affected by cancer. We interviewed several women who have overcome their cancer diagnosis and asked them 'What makes you feel beautiful?'
Here is a glimpse into their stories--
Hair loss can be one of the most difficult and feared side effects of chemotherapy. Upon learning we will lose our hair, we immediately begin anticipating our hair loss and its impact on ourselves and others. Feeling helpless in anticipation of our hair loss can cause or increase feelings of reluctance, fear, and depression. By researching options, making deliberate choices, and taking specific actions to determine our appearance without hair, we gain a greater sense of control over our changing appearance. A greater sense of control over our appearance may help motivate us to take control of other aspects of our lives that contribute to a greater quality of life during cancer treatment. Clearly, it is not "just hair."
Our hair is part of us, part of our feminine identity, part of our style and image. Without our hair, we feel stripped of our identity, and in the context of cancer, it often feels like we are systematically being stripped of ourselves. Hair loss strips us of our anonymity at a time when we desperately want to maintain a sense of normalcy. In the words of one anonymous respondent to 4women.com's "Emotional Side of Hair Loss" survey:
Women who are dealing with cancer often stress over their physical appearance. Radiation and chemotherapy can leave a woman feeling emotionally shattered and physically unattractive. For many female cancer patients, the right products and beauty treatments can make a dramatic difference in their own self-image. By concentrating on how to change her outward appearance, a woman with cancer may regain her lost confidence.
The chemicals used in chemotherapy often drain the skin of its healthy hue. Redness or blotches may form on the face, neck and extremities. Skin may also become pale, dry or irritated. Radiation adversely affects the skin as well. Many women with cancer, including those with mesothelioma complain of sensitive skin that appears dull and lifeless. Makeup and beauty regimens can camouflage many of the issues associated with this illness.
"I cheated cancer," says Patricia Brett founder and designer of Veronica Brett a swimwear collection of sexy classic swimsuits for breast cancer survivors. Brett is the youngest girl in a family of 11 children. Sadly, she knows cancer all too well. Patricia Brett has escaped a cancer diagnosis, but her passion for women with breast cancer comes from seeing a family of strong women fight against this disease.
Luckily, I have never been diagnosed with cancer. I created Veronica Brett swimwear as a tribute to all the women in my life (aunts, sister, niece, and cousins) that have been affected by breast cancer and the BRCA1 gene.
Beauty saves. Beauty heals. Beauty motivates. Beauty unites. Beauty returns us to our origins. - YOU are beautiful!
Image by: Julia Ordodi
Most women have days that they do not feel beautiful. Bloating, fatigue, stress, and many other factors can cause a woman to not look or feel her best. It may seem that, for a woman living with cancer, feeling beautiful is the least of her worries. However, women suffering from mesothelioma, breast cancer, or any other strain of this disease can find great joy in looking their best, no matter what their prognosis may be.
While it is true that many cancer treatments take their toll on a woman's physical appearance, she can still feel beautiful by adding to her wardrobe
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