Cosmetic Help for Cancer Patients

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Sometimes the 36-year-old cancer patient lets herself remember when she had the energy to "run around with her kids like a maniac" and stay up until the early hours of the morning. That was before a recurrence of Hodgkin's disease forced her to begin the chemotherapy treatment that left her nauseated, fatigued, somewhat dispirited, and bald.

Before chemotherapy, Sharon (who asked that her last name not be used) had beautiful, jet-black hair. Now she keeps a strawberry blond wig handy for those times she says she "needs a good laugh" to help her "escape" from the side effects of chemotherapy, as well as the reality of having cancer.

"The wig has bangs coming down. I never used to wear bangs," she says. "Sometimes I put on long, dangling earrings with the wig and some of the cosmetics that they gave me when the hospital made me up. It's pretty funny because I'm not the kind of person that used to use all this stuff."

Her mother, Dorothy (who also asked that her last name not be used), helped coax Sharon from her hospital room to the "Look Good ... Feel Better" workshop at North Shore University Hospital, Manahasset, N.Y., where she was receiving her treatment. Dorothy says her daughter was quite skeptical and felt she didn't want to be bothered with having anyone teach her individualized skin care and makeup techniques, or how to work with wigs, turbans and scarves.

But once they started working on her, "Sharon got such a kick out of it and laughed for hours afterwards. The thing a mother looks for is her child's happiness," says Dorothy. "While having your child have cancer is not a happy thing, for those moments, Sharon's smile was my smile, too."

The notion that it's hard to weather going through an arduous course of radiation or chemotherapy treatment without looking good and feeling good about oneself has gained scientific respect, according to Julia Rowland, Ph.D., director of psycho-oncology research, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, D.C.

"Looking good despite what we may be going through can help one take control again and can be a critical component to the healing process by providing powerful psychological benefits," says Rowland.

Course Available

The "Look Good ... Feel Better" course, available to Sharon and others around the country, was developed jointly for national use by the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA) Foundation, the National Cosmetology Association, and the American Cancer Society nearly three years ago. It's an attempt to help patients learn to minimize the side effects of cancer drugs and radiation treatment, which can cause changes in hair, complexion and nails.

"Look Good ... Feel Better" teaches hands-on beauty techniques in group or one-on-one makeover workshops conducted by specially trained, volunteer cosmetologists in hospitals, community centers, and salons.

According to Carolyn Deaver, vice president, CTFA Foundation, the program is also operating in Australia and will be launched in Canada this year. Though the current program is geared for women, a similar program for men undergoing cancer treatment is expected to be developed.

If a patient is unable to attend a makeover workshop, there is a video and brochure available free of charge, which can be used at home.

Here are some of the problems that these programs and pamphlets tackle.

Hair Loss Hard to Take

Drugs capable of killing cancer cells can also attack normal cells. This accounts for many of chemotherapy's unpleasant side effects.

Hair loss, although temporary, and not always a side effect of chemotherapy, is often cited by patients who experience it as the most devastating cosmetic side effect of chemotherapy.

"Every time I pass a mirror and look at my bald head," says 43-year-old

Corrine Wenze of South Farmingdale, N.Y., "it's a constant reminder of my disease. Even when I look at babies I cringe because they remind me I have only about six loyal strands of my own hair."

Wenze says that when she first found out she had breast cancer she "wallowed very well by playing video games for nearly a month. I wanted to fall into a hole and disappear. I didn't believe I could have cancer."

She continues, "You know the surgeon sent me home without my breast and then sent me through cancer treatment. It wasn't until I went to the "Look Good ... Feel Better" program that I picked up. They made me feel more cared for by caring for me and then showing me how to care for myself."

Rowland says losing one's hair is often the first overwhelming confrontation patients have with their illness. Until that point, they might have easily hidden their disease from everyone, including themselves.

According to cosmetologists, the best time to start looking for a wig is before the first chemotherapy treatment. Synthetic wigs are the easiest to maintain because they don't need to be set and are not affected by humidity like natural hair. They're also less costly than natural hair wigs.

Bijan Safai, M.D., chief of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center's dermatology service in New York City, says that in most cases, patients' hair begins to grow back within a few weeks after their chemotherapy treatment ends. But if a wig does not fit right and exerts excessive pressure at certain points, the hair follicles at those points will die and hair will never grow back. So he recommends wigs that don't need to be glued or taped down, and that don't require elastic bands that hold them tightly against the scalp.

Frequently, the cost of a wig is reimbursable by third-party payers if it is prescribed as a "cranial prosthesis" by a physician. Other options cancer patients can consider are brightly colored scarves, turbans or hats.

William Cahan, M.D., senior attending surgeon at Memorial Sloan-Kettering, says many of his male cancer patients choose to wear hairpieces close to their natural hair color and style while undergoing cancer treatment. However, some prefer to have fun wearing hats such as French berets and beanies with propellers. Like Sharon choosing to wear a strawberry blond wig, these men seem to get through their treatment by self-kidding.

About the Author

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