Beauty beyond Breast Cancer
As a beauty industry professional of over 23 plus years I am often asked why I have stayed on this path. My answer has been the same for many years.........It is because of the way my clients feel at the end of the service. This is also why my favorite quote has always been "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. -Maya Angelou" Truth be told the older I get the more impactful this poem becomes. I have realized that everyone is going through SOMETHING may it be a big something, a small something or a life altering something. I have also realized that each one of us handles our something in our own way. Sometimes it is the gift of being uplifted by those around us, that really makes all the difference in a positive way. I am thankful that I have been able to share my gifts in such a meaningful way, but recently I had an experience with a former coworker/friend of mine that completely melted my heart.
Perhaps it's just me but when gaps of time go in between seeing friends and family it can be hard to imagine them in any other way than when you last saw them. So as you can imagine when I heard that my friend Janice had been battling with breast cancer and was receiving chemo it was surreal to me. Nonetheless she contacted me in response to a promotion that I had posted on my social media. It was for a workshop that would show women quick and easy ways to apply their makeup as well as showing them how to take amazing selfies in between their professional branding sessions to maintain content. When Janice reached out to me she explained that due to having hair loss and just now getting back in the swing of the things she would like a private lesson, and of coarse I obliged.
Now before I get to deep into her experience let me tell you a little more about her journey prior to her visit:
Janice has always had her mammograms every year, in the past they have found small lumps and done biopsies with no issues. This past June 2022 she had her annual mammogram, biopsy and was told that she was fine. Yet a month later literally the day before her birthday on July 5th, she was notified that she did indeed have breast cancer and was referred to a surgeon. From this point she was given treatment options and ultimately chose chemotherapy. Her oncologist explained that she would likely have hair loss and recommended she cut her hair into a pixie cut, which she did. After three weeks of chemo her hair was literally coming out in clumps and as you can imagine it was a heartbreaking experience for her. She stated that although she had prepared herself for this moment, it still hit her hard. The next day with the help of her fiancé James she decided to shave her head.
She has now completed her chemo and radiation and is having preventative infusions as she now has HER2 which will require hormone therapy for the next 5-10 years. (HER2 means the patient has tested positive for breast cancer that may grow quickly and possible come back/recur. The risk is significantly lowered with appropriate treatment- reference taken from pennmedicine.org)
This journey has taken Janice on both an emotional, mental and physical journey that was unexpected. Yet when she contacted me she only had one goal in mind.
"I want to feel beautiful again" is what she said to me.
So as she arrived for her appointment, I knew that I had one job and one purpose that day. Make Janice feel beautiful. My goal was to show her how to recreate this feeling in small increments each day and how to maintain moving forward once she returns home by practicing the techniques learned. We had a consultation and she told me how her wig made her look like her mom lol, and she wanted tips to make it look more modern. We styled her wig, talked about the loss of hair in both her eyebrows and lashes, filled her brows and together with her own personal makeup collection we began to make her FEEL beautiful once again. When finished we discussed how to take selfies with proper posing and lighting and Janice smiled with me the way I remember her smiling all those years ago when use to work together.
Following her session Janice sent me a selfie of her shading her own brows and thanked me for making her feel so good. In her own words she actually said "Thank you for helping me find my spark again". Little does she know that it was actually her that I should be thanking because Q she is the true inspiration. Janice is a kind, courageous and passionate person and I applaud her strength for pushing through such a difficult time. I thank her for courage and allowing us to share her story. I Pray her continued strength over the next few weeks as she returns to work. She will be going back fierce as ever!!
