How cosmetics and makeovers can help cancer care

After the shock of being diagnosed with cancer, the thought of years of treatment can leave patients frightened, confused and uncertain about the future.

And the side-effects of life-saving cancer treatments – such as chemotherapy – can damage appearance. As well as nausea and fatigue, the side-effects of chemotherapy include hair loss, skin and nail problems, weight loss and weight gain.

These symptoms serve as a constant reminder of the disease and can make coping with the illness very difficult, especially for women.

‘Cancer and its treatments can have a devastating effect on a woman’s self-confidence and self-esteem, making her feel less attractive than before,’ says Vickki Harmer, breast cancer clinical nurse specialist at St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington, London.

‘Hair loss is an outward sign of the illness and, for many women, it can feel like you are being forced to disclose there is something wrong with you,’ she adds.

Comfort through cosmetics

To help women cope and boost their self-esteem, beauty treatments and workshops are increasingly being arranged.

At Doncaster Royal Infirmary, the Aurora Centre offers a range of beauty treatments and therapies to women with cancer. A self-funding charity, it also offers lessons in how to apply make-up, how to stencil in missing eyebrows and how to cover thinning or missing hair with wigs or scarves.

As the salon is based in the chemotherapy unit at the hospital, the beauty therapists know exactly which treatments and products are suitable for people having chemotherapy.

The Look Good, Feel Better programme – set up by the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association in 1994 – offers free make-up workshops to women with cancer at over 50 locations in the UK, including Nottingham City Hospital, the Royal Cornwall Hospital and the Royal Berkshire Cancer Centre.

Beauty therapists give their time free of charge to take patients through a 12-step skin care and make-up routine, and provide a practical guide to coping with hair loss. The programme has helped over 60,000 women.

‘The beauty consultants treat all the women with respect and make them feel safe,’ says Beryl Womack, volunteer coordinator for the programme at St Michael’s Hospital in Hayle in Cornwall.

‘When the women first come in they are very nervous but, by the time they leave, they are completely relaxed and feeling much better about themselves. The change is amazing to see,’ she adds.

Breast cancer study

A recent study of 100 women with breast cancer found that those who received beauty treatments reported higher body image scores than women who had not.

Although the makeovers did not alleviate psychological distress directly, the study did find that feelings of hopelessness and helplessness in women who received beauty treatments did not increase over time.

Adjusting to changes in appearance can be particularly difficult for women with breast cancer. When Caroline Monk was diagnosed with the disease in 2004 aged 34, she was determined to do something to help herself and other women with cancer to ‘feel and look beautiful’.

‘Helping people with cancer is not just about finding cures and funding research – it is about caring for the people who go through it,’ says Ms Monk. ‘Chemotherapy can take away all that feels feminine but, if you look ill, you’ll feel ill. If you look fabulous, you’ll feel fabulous.’

While writing a column for Closer magazine during chemotherapy in 2005, Ms Monk received hundreds of emails from women with cancer.

‘There were no real portals for women to say how they really felt about having cancer,’ she says. ‘Around 90% of the emails I got were not about dying but about how cancer had affected their looks.

‘Losing your hair is about so much more than personal vanity – it is how other people perceive and treat you.’

In 2007, Ms Monk achieved an ambition she’d held since being diagnosed with breast cancer by setting up Caroline’s Campaign, which gives cancer patients free pampering sessions worth over £1,000.

Patients are nominated by a friend or relative to receive a designer wig – cut and styled by stylists at Toni & Guy hair salons – a manicure, make-up session and tattooed eyebrows by top make-up artists.

Caroline’s Campaign has helped dozens of women in Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Sunderland. Earlier this month, it came to London where four women (pictured below with Ms Monk) were treated to a full makeover, including dresses from Monsoon. They were then whisked away by limo for a night on the town.

‘Every woman without exception who goes through chemotherapy needs help and advice on wigs, make-up and diet. I want women to look in the mirror and look just as good – if not better – than before treatment,’ says Ms Monk.

‘A well-cut wig can make such a difference. Having eyelashes and eyebrows transforms you from looking ill to looking normal. I believe all of these things aid recovery.’

Caroline’s Campaign makeovers also offer permanent eyebrow tattooing. ‘The eyebrows determine your expression, and women say they feel bare without them,’ says Cathy Brown, make-up artist and trainer at Nouveau Contour permanent cosmetics, who has been involved with Caroline’s Campaign since the outset.

‘Whereas hairpieces go a long way to restoring appearance, women are then faced with the daily prospect of having to pencil in their brow,’ she says.

‘This is where permanent cosmetics can really be of benefit because women don’t have to worry about putting on their eyebrows just to pop out for a pint of milk.’

Reality TV star Jade Goody – who is being treated for cervical cancer – recently had her eyebrows tattooed.

She told Nursing Times: ‘Getting through cancer is a huge battle. Not only do you have to deal with the illness and how it makes you feel – you also have to cope with the physical effects like losing your hair, which is so hard.

‘That’s why Caroline’s Campaign is so special. I wish her every success and fully support her in what she is doing.’

The impact of the makeovers is evident in the women’s reactions. One described it as ‘like having a shot of adrenaline’ while others have said it has transformed their lives by giving them back their confidence.

There is no doubt that having a positive pampering experience can have a marked benefit on someone going through chemotherapy, says Ms Harmer.

‘It is incredibly hard work but I get on such a high when I see the results,’ says Ms Monk. ‘There was one young girl in her early 20s who was very depressed and didn’t want to speak to anyone when she walked in. By the time she was finished she wanted to go out dancing.’

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