LOOK GOOD . . . FEEL BETTER

A PROGRAM BY THE AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY By Tammy Schoonover, Community Manager, American Cancer Society Everyone wants to look good and feel better, especially those going through cancer treatments. The American Cancer Society has a special program just for those ladies wanting to feel good about themselves and look better. Here in the Cedar Valley, Mo Hardy, a licensed cosmetologist leads a class for just that purpose. The classes are held every other month on the 3rd Monday from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at the Covenant Cancer Treatment Center located at 200 E Ridgeway Avenue in Waterloo. Through a national collaboration of the Personal Care Products Council Foundation, the American Cancer Society, and the Professional Beauty Association, the Look Good…Feel Better® program is dedicated to helping women with cancer cope with the appearance side effects of their treatment.  Since 1989, the program has empowered nearly 1 million women in the United States to reclaim their sense of control, confidence and self-esteem. Look Good…Feel Better workshops offer complimentary group, individual and online beauty sessions that include lessons on dealing with temporary hair loss, skin, complexion and nail changes due to cancer treatment. The two-hour group workshop is led by a volunteer beauty expert who teaches makeup application techniques and offers skin and nail care guidance. They also demonstrate how to manage hair loss using wigs, turban, scarves and accessories. Look Good…Feel Better is as much about improving and maintaining self-esteem and confidence as it is about appearance. Patients appreciate the free makeup donated along with the opportunity to spend time in a relaxed, non-medical setting with others who are in the same situation. The workshop helps the participants to regain control of this part of their lives. On top of the very real physical and emotional concerns of the disease itself, the side effects of cancer treatment such as changes in skin tone and texture, hair loss, or weight gain or loss can be devastating to a woman's self-esteem. She often sees someone in the mirror that she does not recognize who may look tired or may have lost her hair, but patients who have participated in the Look Good… Feel Better call the program an emotional lifesaver because it helps them regain a sense of normalcy. "Throughout my career as a cosmetologist, I've worked with some clients and their friends who were battling cancer,” says Mo Hardy, a trained Look Good Feel Better volunteer. "When I heard about the Look Good…Feel Better program, I realized this was a chance for me to really work with a special group of women and make a difference for them during a very challenging time. I've become their cheerleader as they continue this journey.”