Look Good...Feel Better

When women go through chemotherapy and radiation they deal with many different side effects of the medication but sometimes the hardest is not the nausea or lack of appetite, but instead not looking like themselves.

A side of effect of chemotherapy that is visible every day is hair loss.  For women their hair is a large part of who they are, so when it falls out or becomes very thin they don't feel like themselves anymore.  The American Cancer Society offers free wigs, turbans and hats for any women who wish to receive one. You can find them at your local American Cancer Society office.

Another a side of effect of chemo and radiation is skin discoloration and texture change, especially on the face.  Look Good...Feel Better is a programed designed to help women and teens (male and female) apply make-up and use skin care products to help the patients feel better about themselves and boost their self-esteem.  The program is a non-medical program designed with the idea that if one feels better about how they look they will start to feel better overall.  When a woman arrives at the session she is presented with a never before opened skincare bag that is tailored to their skin ton (light to dark) filled with donated cosmetics and skin care products.  The session is then led by a trained facilitator (who must be a licensed cosmetologist) who demonstrates how to apply the makeup, properly wear a wig (if needed) and begin to feel better.  The sessions typically run for about 2 hours and are held typically held at the local American Cancer Society office, Discovery Shop, or hospital.  They are a wonderful free program the American Cancer Society offers because it allows cancer patients the opportunity to feel beautiful again even when they are feeling their worst. For more information check out http://lookgoodfeelbetter.org.

These are a great videos done by the Harrisonburg American Cancer Society office about Look Good...Feel Better and other products/support at your local office:





The American Cancer Society also offers free bras and prostheses to women who have undergone mastectomies.  There are trained staff and volunteers at local offices to help properly fit a patient so she can feel beautiful and like her old self again.

As always if you would like more information about this Patient Services Program, any of our other programs or to find out any information related to cancer you can visit cancer.org or call toll-free to 1-800-227-2345 at any time of the day or night.

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Until We Find a Cure