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Beauty pros help in cancer fight

Local program has survivors feeling better

ENDWELL -- Getting over breast cancer 4 1/2 years ago required a lumpectomy, 37 shots of radiation and four rounds of chemo.

But Elsie Torres, 54, says she knew in her heart she'd be okay in the end.

In the meantime, though, she was bald, and she'd look in the mirror and despair: Would cancer leave its devastating marks on her sallow face and hairless head forever?

Then she visited the Look Good, Feel Better program, run by the American Cancer Society.
According to www.cancer.org, the aptly named program is a community-based, free, national service that teaches female cancer patients beauty techniques to help restore their appearance and self-image during chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

"After I had cancer, I went in for training," says Torres, 54. "I had a feeling I could make women feel better, and I did."

A licensed hairdresser, Torres is now a program facilitator.

There's a new session starting July 19, says Jan Chytilo of the local ACS, and she's got room for more women who are dealing with cancer.

As the site explains, volunteer beauty professionals lead small groups, usually consisting of six to 10 women, through practical, hands-on experience. Women learn about makeup techniques, skin care, nail care and options related to hair loss such as wigs, turbans and scarves.
Women who aren't beauty professionals are welcome to help as assistants.

Torres' daughter, 21-year-old Christina, visited one session.

"The ladies were quiet when we first got in there," says Christina, who's studying at Broome Community College for a career in international journalism. "But once the makeup went on their faces, they felt like different people, like they had life in their faces again."

Elsie Torres has developed close relationships with several of the women. Not all made it through their battles with cancer, but Torres has the satisfaction of knowing she was able to affect their lives deeply in their final days.

Kathy Bergin, who owns a beauty salon and wig shop in Binghamton, has volunteered her time and talents in the program for about 17 years. She trains Look Good, Feel Better facilitators throughout the state.

"The first time I went to it, I loved being able to help women deal with the side effects of the treatments they were undergoing," she says. "Showing them how to draw their eyebrows and apply makeup -- this way, when they look in the mirror, they see themselves again."

posted by Cheryl Levesque @ 2:29 PM