People having treatment at North Wales Cancer Treatment Centre in Denbighshire can have two evening sessions with beauty therapy students.

The pampering at Coleg Llandrillo Cymru’s Rhos-on-Sea campus includes make-up lessons, facials and pedicures.
The beauty salon is hosting six patients on alternate Tuesday evenings over the next six months.
Coleg Llandrillo Cymru is developing a £3.6m Institute of Health & Social Care offering vocational training in the health and care sectors.
Beauty therapy students at the college visited the cancer centre at Glan Clwyd Hospital, Bodelwyddan, to promote the pampering evenings.

‘Feel good factor’
The treatments they provided in the centre’s reception area included massages and file and polishes.

Maggie Griffiths, director of health well-being at Coleg Llandrillo Cymru, said the aim was to “break down boundaries between beauty therapy and care”.
She said: “We’re expecting there to be more demand that we can meet.”
The cancer centre’s leader, chemotherapy nurse Pat Pilkington said: “Having cancer treatment can affect a person’s whole body image and many patients suffer from low self-esteem during treatment.
“Pampering has been proven to help a person’s psychological well-being and encourage the feel-good factor of patients with cancer”.

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Featured sculpture, “Meltdown On Madison” by contemporary sculptor, Lauri Panopoulos. Visit: The Official Website Of Artist Lauri Panopoulos

Three years ago I went through a scare involving a barbaric biopsy in the MRI machine which thankfully turned out to be benign. But my anxiety reached new heights. Then 2 years ago my father died of cancer and I feared for my own life even more. Its almost like the more time I have where I don’t have to go for that stuff makes it harder to go back.

I am sitting here wishing I didn’t have to go for my mammo in a few days. Tomorrow I will be going to Sloan for my checkup with the breast surgeon and then the mammo. I rescheduled this appointment back in March and had to wait all this time which is lunacy to me and yet I felt as if I committed a crime. Now I don’t want to go at all. Yes I know I am sounding like a whiny kid. I don’t want to think of my life in time to live between tests and appointments.

I need to create. I need to paint and sketch to help me with this fear. It always seems to help. So the next few days I will carve out time to do just that. Hoping it will quell some of my scanxiety. . .

What do you do to deal with scanxiety?

Cathy Bueti is the author of Breastless in the City. Visit her at cathybueti.com

This insightful book provides readers with invaluable information about “chemo brain,” the cognitive impairment that often follows chemotherapy.

Dr. Silverman is head of neuroimaging at UCLA and Idelle Davidson is an award-winning journalist and a breast cancer survivor.

Even years after treatment, many people who have had chemotherapy report problems with memory, attention, concentration, word retrieval and multitasking.

Some describe it as “losing their edge.” The book is very easy to read. Authors Silverman and Davidson explain the science behind brain fog and describe how depression, anxiety and other factors might compound the problem.

They include accounts from those who have experienced chemo brain (Idelle shares her story in the introduction), and provide concrete tips and strategies to help people get their brains back on track.

Jane Brody of the New York Times had this to say about Your Brain After Chemo: “An excellent new book…offer(s) a long list of suggestions to help people who are struggling with the cognitive effects of chemotherapy.”
In the book, readers will find information on:
· How to talk with your oncologist about the potential cognitive side effects of the drugs you’re taking (or are about to take).
· Which drugs have the worse track record in terms of causing brain fog
· The symptoms and signs of post-chemo brain
· What scientists see when they image the brains of people who have had chemo
· How an evaluation from a neuropsychologist can help
· Combating fatigue, fear and stress which also may affect memory
· Healthy brain foods
· A nine-step program with a worksheet to help sharpen your memory and focus.

You’ll find Your Brain After Chemo on Amazon and at major bookstores. Amazon/Your Brain After Chemo: A Practical Guide to Lifting the Fog and Getting Back Your Focus [Hardcover]
For more information, please visit: yourbrainafterchemo.com
yourbrainafterchemo.blogspot.com

–Your Brain After Chemo: A Practical Guide to Lifting the Fog and Getting Back Your Focus by Dan Silverman, MD, PhD and Idelle Davidson
Your Brain After Chemo: A Practical Guide to Lifting the Fog and Getting Back Your Focus (Da Capo Lifelong Books) by Dan Silverman, MD, PhD and Idelle Davidson

If you choose to do BSE, the information below is a step-by-step approach for the exam. The best time for a woman to examine her breasts is when the breasts are not tender or swollen. Women who examine their breasts should have their technique reviewed during their periodic health exams by their health care professional.
Women with breast implants can do BSE, too. It may be helpful to have the surgeon help identify the edges of the implant so that you know what you are feeling. To read the full article and learn how to examine yourself, visit: American Cancer Society and share your comments and opinions below with the CancerDirectory.com community.

They were treated with ICT-107, an experimental dendritic cell based cancer vaccine, following the standard care of surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.

“We are targeting specific antigens that are on cancer stem cells … the only population of cells that can really propagate a tumor,” said Dr. John Yu, director of surgical neuro-oncology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and ImmunoCellular’s chief scientific officer.

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LLS’s mission is to cure blood cancers including leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their families. Since the first funding in 1954, LLS has awarded more than $600 million in research funding.

This site highlights just some of the innovations that have made a difference in the lives of thousands of patients and their families and that will help achieve the ultimate goal – cures for blood cancer.
In 2009, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) celebrates its 60th anniversary and its commitment to curing blood cancers and helping patients and their families.

According to research, all companies and organizations, in order to survive and thrive in this world, must possess the following competencies: customer service, operational skill and an ability to innovate.

But only one of those competencies is what drives an organization. Looking at the big picture and determining the single characteristic that shines through everything they do — services for patients, research programs, advocacy work and revenue-generation programs — what quickly becomes apparent is that LLS is — above all else — innovative.

This trait shows up everywhere in their 60 years of existence.
Innovation is what has made LLS the successful organization it is today. It is responsible for their tremendous growth and the great strides in patient treatments and support they have provided.

Visit: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and share your comments and opinions below with the CancerDirectory.com community.

The institute uses the daVinci Surgical system and has been named a “Best Hospital” for Urology by U.S. News and World Report for 2009. Additionally, it has dedicated more than $20 million to basic and clinical urology research and is the only center in the world offering suicide gene therapy – developed in the Henry Ford Department of Radiation Oncology and currently in Phase III clinical trial – as a way to eliminate prostate cancer cells without damaging surrounding normal tissue.

Pioneered by Mani Menon, M.D., and the Henry Ford Vattikuti Urology Institute, the robotic prostatectomy surgically removes cancer while offering a high probability of preserving sexual function and urinary control. Patients from all 50 states and more than two dozen countries have traveled to have the procedure performed by the world’s most experienced team.

Visit: Vattikuti Urology Institute and share your comments and opinions below with the CancerDirectory.com community.

The brain is an amazing organ with the power to heal itself. You may have seen evidence of this in stroke victims who are able to regain many of their functions.

Confirming the benefits of exercise, there’s a large study out in the July 2010 issue of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society that focuses on teenage physical activity.  The authors conclude that exercise in the teen years reduces the risk of cognitive impairment as we age.  They also look at what happens to women who are sedentary as teens and become physically active later in life (age groups 30 and 50). Those women show a significantly lowered risk of dementia as well.  So if you’re already exercising, good for you.  If you’re not, get out there, give me twenty and tone up that flabby brain.

Have you always exercised?  If so, do you believe it kept the fog away (or helped lift it) during and/or after chemotherapy?

There’s a good summary of the study in Science Daily at this link.  You’ll find the actual journal abstract here.

Idelle Davidson is the coauthor (with Dr. Dan Silverman at UCLA)  of “Your Brain After Chemo: A Practical Guide to Lifting the Fog and Getting Back Your Focus” (Da Capo Lifelong books).  To see reviews on Amazon, click here.

Part of the answer is scientific, according to Dutch neuro-scientists who released a study this past month.  The study showed that the part of our brain that is involved in cognitive decision making – the medial orbitofrontal cortex – lights up each time we see a celebrity of the same sex displaying eye-catching clothing or accessories!

Part two of the answer to our question lies in the enticing glamour, fabulous fame, and the elite social statuses of celebrities.  We may not realize it, but we imitate them in the hopes to capture some of that essence for ourselves.

Fashion icons have been influencing the way we dress for decades.  From Marilyn Monroe’s iconic white dress to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ impeccable fashion taste that spread like wildfire throughout the country – or even all the way to Sarah Jessica Parker’s inspirational shoe collection as Carrie in the Sex & the City empire, celebrities consistently create style trends.  Fashion conscious stars such as Katie Holmes have the ability to sum up a mood of the season by just a few paparazzi snapshots.

We all remember the acid washed jeans and shoulder pads of the 80’s, made popular by icons such as Cory Heart, Billy Idol, and Madonna.  However, while many of us would like to forget much (or all!) of our 1980’s wardrobe, it appears that celebrities are still hungry for clothing that represents that era, such as leggings and off-the-shoulder tees.  That style has made a huge comeback this past year due to such celebrity enthusiasts like Hillary Duff, Lindsay Lohan, Heidi Klum and Victoria Beckham. Suddenly, leggings are everywhere and off-the-shoulder looks are the hot new trend!  This is no surprise, though.  History has shown us time and time again that Hollywood stars have an undeniable ability to influence the style of the masses.  Some of these looks are manufactured by stylists, however others are truly spontaneous.  Shopping for an outfit reminiscent of the one you have seen your favorite star wear has been a socially accepted practice in our culture for decades, and it is also an exciting and pleasurable experience.

But what happens when women who used to enjoy such activities are suddenly thrown a fashion curve ball when they experience a drastic appearance change due to medical hair loss or any other abrupt deviation from what our society considers “the norm”? Former admiration for beautiful and healthy celebrities is transformed into a very personal desire to feel attractive again.  Women who experience sudden appearance change often disconnect from their normal life.  They tend to feel alienated from fashion and fame.  Whether or not we care to admit it, for women, our appearance DOES matter to us, and when fighting a battle against any disease, changes in appearance (such as hair loss) can be mentally devastating.  It is important to realize that times like those are the most important to know how to love oneself.

Women confronting drastic appearance changes yearn for normalcy.  I know when I lost my own hair, I was never  more acutely aware of images of women with hair and how I lost my ability to relate.  My sense of style remained, however none of my outfits or accessories looked the same without my crowning glory!

I’ve yet to find a fashion magazine  that highlights women without hair when portraying the season’s latest trends.  I’m  patiently waiting  for Hollywood to pick up the slack with its fictional female characters undergoing chemotherapy.  From Murphy’s cancer battle on Murphy Brown, to Lynette of Desperate Housewives, and Samantha from Sex & the City – television has been a prime venue for Hollywood to portray a woman suffering from medical hair loss.  Two current examples of Hollywood depicting medical hair loss are found in the series “Brothers & Sisters” and, more recently, “General Hospital.”  As our former blogs on these depictions stated, the female bald characters were forced to wear a variety of unattractive and unfeminine head covering options.

Example one: In “Brothers & Sisters,” character Kitty Walker is portrayed as a successful, bold and defiant woman with solid conservative beliefs.  When she loses her hair during her cancer treatment, her head wear options do not reflect at all upon her character’s steadfast outlook on life.  Rather, the lumpy turbans she adorns call to mind  the head wear of bearded Middle Eastern men!

Example two: In “General Hospital,” character Shirley Smith, a kind and classy older woman suffering from brain cancer, is thrown into the General Hospital cast to mix things up at the hospital with her frank and down-to-earth cool temper.  Yet, what do they adorn her baldness with but a childish arts and crafts-esque get up!

Hollywood continues to further stigmatize women with hair loss by portraying them in  old fashioned and outdated head wear.  Women still want to fit in with society when they lose their hair.  They do not desire to stand out as different or sick.  When Hollywood portrays female cancer patients in century-old turbans and lumpy head wraps, it seems as if writers and stylists don’t think their storyline would be supported without such typical head coverings.  It almost seems as if the chosen head wear is meant to emphasize their illness.  Don’t they get that woman can lose her hair and STILL remain fashionable and stylish?  Don’t they get that when women are sick it is even MORE important to try and not draw attention to their baldness? Instead, the continued portrayal in unflattering head wraps causes the pubic to shudder at the possibility that if they were to be diagnosed with cancer and lose their hair, those outdated ugly turbans would be their only options.

The opportunity to help empower us through positive imagery is one that should never be passed up.

Calling all Hollywood stylists!  You still have a chance to redeem yourself in the eyes of the bald and the beautiful.  We’ve seen too many of these outdated options – it’s time to show us something feminine, flowing and fashionable.  There are plenty of scarf options to choose from.  Get with it and keep in mind;  we’ll be watching!

New York health officials are now ramping up their regulation of more than 2,000 tanning salons and gyms offering indoor ultraviolet rays even as health advocates push for a law banning exposure by anyone under 18.
“We’re not claiming that people get addicted to tanning the same way you do nicotine, but it clearly is a habit you develop as a teenager,” said Peter Slocum, vice president for advocacy at the American Cancer Society in Albany. “That’s when most people start frequenting the cancer chambers.”

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