Cancer Fighters Thrive is a quarterly print and online magazine bringing readers practical, innovative and inspirational information about cancer treatment and survivorship.
Issue link: http://cancerfightersthrive.epubxp.com/i/61344
SPECIAL FEATURE going to be me. I'm going to walk with pride. I'm not going to be ashamed that I don't have hair.'" Lauren moved ahead with determination, choosing stylish head coverings and playing up her makeup and accessories to ensure that she felt pretty and confident throughout treatment. Still, she acknowledges that there were definitely challenges and that not every day was a good one. "I had my days when I felt I'm so ugly," she says, "but that's natural. We're connected to who we are on the outside, and, unfortunately, we often find our identity in what we look like. The media tells us today that women have hair, that it should be long and wavy and perfect, and that it's soft, it never gets messed up, and it never goes gray. We're all sup- posed to be young and healthy and vibrant, including our hair." Emotional Impact For many patients undergoing treatment, it's difficult to shake this cultural and personal attachment to our hair, so experienc- ing hair loss may be difficult. "Hair loss can be a very emotional experience for patients going through chemotherapy or radiation," says Rhonda Colley, MS, LPC, LMFT, mind-body therapist at Cancer Treatment Centers of America® in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The emotional impact of hair loss can correlate with a person's self-esteem, especially if his or her self-worth has been based on physical attractiveness. If that's the case, the person may have a more difficult adjustment. Specifically, she says, "Patients may express concern about rejection in a relationship due to all of the physical changes in their body, and such worries can lead to anxiety." In addition to self-esteem issues and the potential for anxi- ety, Colley adds that patients may actually grieve the loss of their hair. "Our hair is often seen as our crowning glory, and some patients may view their hair as their most attractive feature," she says. "Even when that is not the case, the sense of grief and loss can be just as strong. It is a part of our body and a part of who we are." Also affecting patients' emotional response, Colley says, is how prepared they are for the change. Even if they have been well educated about when to expect the loss and how it will likely oc- cur, they may still be shocked by the reality. At this point coping strategies can play a powerful role in helping patients manage the emotional challenge they are facing. Talking with other patients, with a mind-body therapist, or with hair stylists who are familiar with the needs of cancer pa- tients can be very helpful, Colley says. "With more information cfthrive.com Lauren Erdman about the process, patients feel more in control of their world despite the hair loss itself, which is mostly out of their control." Coping Tools For many patients, wigs and head coverings—along with other fun accessories—are helpful coping tools when hair loss occurs during treatment. Pattie Cagney Sheehan, owner of Second Act, a fully accredited mastectomy boutique in downtown Chicago that offers wigs and post-surgery bras and prostheses, says that she learned the full emotional impact of treatment-related hair loss when she watched her mother's response to it. "When my mother went through cancer, she was 80 years old. She'd put her wig on and she'd cry and say, 'It doesn't look right; it's not like me,' and she got frustrated. I said, 'Mom, you're 80. You're happily mar- ried. What's the big deal?' And, boy, was that a mistake! It's a big deal, even at 80." summer 2012 | cancer fighters thrive 37