Makeovers help ease the effects of chemo

SYCAMORE - When Kim Bourdages of DeKalb was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, she was concerned about losing her hair during chemotherapy, so she went to Patty Pumfrey at Unique Concepts Salon for help in choosing a wig. That's when Pumfrey told Bourdages about a program to help women with cancer deal with the visible effects of the disease. "At first, I was like a dog going to the vet," Bourdages recalled with a laugh. She was skeptical, but reluctantly agreed to attend a session of "Look Good ... Feel Better," a national program sponsored in part by the American Cancer Society. "I called a girlfriend who had already had breast cancer, but had never gone to a 'Look Good ... Feel Better' program," Bourdages said. "We had a great time." "Look Good ... Feel Better" was developed in 1989 to improve the outlook and self-esteem of women with cancer. Unique Concepts has participated in the free program since opening in 2003. "Cancer is such a mental game," Pumfrey said. "You have to have a positive attitude." Pumfrey's own involvement came after losing her mother to cancer, then watching a friend battle a similar ordeal. "I'd notice little things in posture and personality," she said. "They needed a little TLC and they weren't getting it." Pumfrey said feeling attractive gives some women the positive lift they need to fight the disease. When the subject is cancer, the attitude is often solemn. But those who have attended Pumfrey's sessions said they are anything but serious. "If I can't make it fun, I don't want to do it anymore," Pumfrey said. "It's an hour and a half party. Let's play with makeup. Let's check our problems at the door and just laugh." "Patty's sessions are very open," said Andrea Diedrich, patient education coordinator at Kishwaukee Community Hospital. Diedrich often refers newly diagnosed patients to the program. She said the open atmosphere of the sessions makes women feel comfortable with side effects of treatment such as baldness. "I've seen so many bald women who look so beautiful without their hair," Pumfrey said. The 90-minute sessions are broken into three segments: skin care and makeup, wig care and nail care. "We can show them how to put eyelashes and eyebrows on, how to wear a wig or not wear a wig, whatever makes them comfortable," Pumfrey said. "We can teach them how to apply makeup to correct jaundice or dark circles. We teach cool turban wraps. We even have a technique to make a turban out of an old T-shirt." Bourdages said the program helped her know what to expect. "Until I got chemo, I didn't realize how devastating it could be to your skin," she said. "It's like it turns to rubber. But I could remember Patty saying to do this or that, and I had creams and lotions to help with the dryness." Bourdages also wasn't prepared for the extent of hair loss. "I didn't realize you were going to lose every body hair you owned," she said. "But they show you how to do your eyebrows and eyelashes so you don't look so hairless." Each participant receives a free kit of donated beauty products to take home. The program does not endorse any brand or line of products, so the kits contain an assortment of cosmetics. "Patty won me over by telling me I'd get $200 in free makeup," Bourdages said with a laugh. Diedrich said the program is about more than beauty tips. "It's important to realize there are other people out there going through the same issues," she said. "It's important to know you can feel good about yourself, even when you're going through cancer." Bourdages said talking to other women was eye-opening. "Everyone there is at a different stage," she said. "I had had surgery, but hadn't started chemo yet, and I sat next to a lady who'd had chemo but no surgery yet." "Everyone has a common denominator," Pumfrey said. "Some people come in skeptical, but everyone comes out feeling so good about themselves." Pumfrey hosts a session the second Tuesday of each quarter. The spring session is scheduled for April 12. To register or to find a different session, call the American Cancer Society's Batavia office at (800) 395-LOOK or Unique Concepts at (815) 754-5520. The salon can also schedule private consultations. Dana Herra can be reached at dherra@pulitzer.net.