Helping women battling cancer look good, feel better

> By Albert Kramberger

editor@transcontinental.ca

Women going through cancer treatment are invited to participate in the Look Good, Feel Better workshop held at the Lakeshore General Hospital every month.

The non-medical program, which started at the Pointe Claire hospital in 2003, has women participate in a free-of-charge two-hour workshop and demonstration on makeup techniques and ways to camouflage the appearance-related effects of chemotherapy and radiation. They also receive a one-time-only kit of donated cosmetic products worth about $300.

“There have been 239 women who have participated since 2003 [at the LGH],” said co-ordinator Catherine Bubnich. “We help women living with cancer deal with things like hair loss. We teach them how to wear a wig. They often don’t feel like going out. We try to make them feel better and to boost their morale.”

The workshops are held once a month, usually the last Monday, and prior registration is mandatory with a maximum of about 12 participants. A team of 15 volunteers help keep the program running at the LGH, Bubnich said. “There are 1,800 volunteers across Canada,” she said. “We wouldn’t be able to function without them.”

Lisette Crawford, of Beaconsfield, is one of the trained volunteer cosmeticians at the LGH workshops. “I find it very rewarding and the participants are so happy to relax and not talk about their sickness,” she said.

Sponsored by the Canadian Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, the national program is part of an international initiative. Look Good, Feel Better programs operate in 40 countries and was started in the United States in 1989. There are 125 hospitals and cancer-care facilities in Canada that are participating in the program, Bubnich said.

Registration is open to any woman undergoing cancer treatment. Info: 514 630-2225 ext. 1451 or www.lookgoodfeelbetter.ca.