Community-based programs are proving that looking good is as large a part of the recovery process for female cancer patients as their medicinal regimen.

Chemo with Style is one such program where cancer survivors are treated to a one-on-one consultation with volunteer stylists who teach them beauty techniques and ideas for dealing with the effects of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Tips on makeup, hair, and skin and nail care are shared in a party-type setting, where participants are fitted for wigs and use scarves, jewelry and other accessories to further compliment their polished look. Participants also receive a bag of cosmetics, spiritual readings and various motivational books.

"We reach out to all cancer survivors. Everything is free. They get wigs, turbans, scarves, accessories, skin-care treatment and the fellowship of other women through that journey," said Terry Vann Schon, volunteer services coordinator at Hospice Care of Tri County.

Vann Schon founded Chemo with Style along with her friend, cancer survivor Paulette Criscione, in 2005. Van Schon said she actually started with the program because her mother was diagnosed with colon cancer and, as her caregiver, she didn't "know who to reach out to."

"My mother was very vain, as far as her hair. She wanted to look good," Vann Schon said. "When you look at somebody, the first thing you see is their hair and their appearance. When you're diagnosed with cancer and are going through a journey like that, that's taken away from you."

The Chemo with Style class is limited to 10 females who meet every other month. The first Chemo with Style program this year will be held from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17, at Cornerstone Community Church, 1418 Chestnut St. in Orangeburg.

"We are able to do this through donations and the community," Vann Schon said. "It doesn't stop here. We keep in contact with survivors. They know we're there for them. We can also team them up with another survivor so they will somebody to talk with while they're on their journey."

Jerri Zeigler, community education coordinator at Hospice Care of Tri County, said, "Survivors don't have to worry about cost. They can pick out their wigs, and a hair dresser can do that for them, too. It's just a very personal setting, and they don't have to worry about spending money. That makes a big difference when you have the medical bills that they have."

The Regional Medical Center in Orangeburg also provides a haven of support and encouragement with their Look Good ... Feel Better program. The free, community-based service teaches female cancer patients beauty tips designed to enhance their appearance during chemotherapy and radiation treatments, which can sometimes leave patients without eyebrows, eyelashes and an even skin tone.

"These ladies come when they're really down and out," said Jean Browning, a certified mastectomy fitter at the RMC who serves as a program facilitator. "They just feel like they're the only ones, but once they get with other women and start finding out their problems are not unique to them, they come out of there just smiling. It really just pulls them up."

Through the Look Good ... Feel Better program, certified cosmetologists volunteer their time and talents to help female cancer patients improve their appearance and self-image by teaching them beauty techniques. Patients also learn how to properly care for skin and nails made fragile by cancer treatment, and to disguise hair loss using wigs, turbans and scarves.

The Look Good ... Feel Better program was founded and developed in 1989 by the Personal Care Products Council, in cooperation with the American Cancer Society and the National Cosmetology Association. The ACS furnishes each guest patient with appropriate cosmetics and a special care package that also includes lotions and creams to help with dry skin, which can sometimes result from chemotherapy treatments.

Merle K. Buck, owner of Creations Beauty Salon, is a certified cosmetologist who volunteers her time to style and fit wigs, and help patients select and apply appropriate shades of cosmetics for their new skin tone.

"We have a class every other month," Buck said. "When you look good physically, that will make you feel better emotionally, spiritually and otherwise. That's pretty much what I encourage them with. ... I've seen so many transformations take place."

The Sept. 17 Chemo with Style class is limited to the first 10 registered participants. For more information or to register, call Vann Schon at 803-461-5180 or Zeigler at 803-461-5063. Once registered, individuals are asked to call if they need to cancel. Other classes will be scheduled at a later date.

For more information on the Look Good ... Feel Better program, call Browning at 803-395-4705.

n

T&D Staff Writer Dionne Gleaton can be reached by e-mail at dgleaton@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5534. Discuss this and other stories online at TheTandD.com.

You must be logged in to comment.