Positive recovery is key during breast cancer
The care and wellbeing of cancer patients is key to improving their self-esteem and reducing the potential psychological effects of the disease.
The impact of breast cancer treatment may not only be physical, but also, in most cases, it affects the patient’s image. Even though, in almost all cases, this is transient in nature, it can be mitigated with the help of personal image professionals.
Take care of your skin and feel good
In cancer patients, side effects can appear on the skin, hair, nails or chest when the patient has undergone surgery. “Counseling to feel good and maintain your appearance is essential and does not impede the treatment in any way” says Nuria Ayuso, expert in esthetics at the Beauty Studio Center.
“There are two main conditions that arise after treatment: dryness or the appearance of spots or hyperpigmentation,” says Nuria. To treat dryness of both the face and the rest of the body, good hygiene and moisturizing with creams, oils and products specific for face or body are recommended. Deep skin cleansing with instrumentation or the use of exfoliating products is not recommended.
To prevent and reduce spots, called hyperpigmentation, it is important to avoid sun exposure at any time of the year, and to use sunscreens with a high SPF. During the radiation treatment process, it is advisable to mitigate the reaction caused by the radiation and to use oils or specialized products that help skin regeneration, to, in turn, alleviate the effects associated with treatment.
“The Essential Reload treatment we offer at our center is specifically designed to renew the skin microbiota and balance it. It is a very gentle treatment of the skin that also contributes to its regeneration,” says Nuria Ayuso.
Hair loss: the most common concern
The most important effect of chemotherapy treatments on hair is hair loss, which causes a substantial change in image and particularly in one’s perception of themselves.
“There are multiple solutions to make you feel good when you’ve lost your hair: wigs, hats, scarves, etc. The most important thing is to find something that makes you feel good and that fits your self-image and style completely,” says Inma Català, a hair stylist and wig specialist at Beauty Studio Center.
This center offers the option of customizing the wig through their own workshop so that you can design a hairpiece to maintain your image in terms of cut, color and texture, so it doesn’t even look like a wig, or you can choose a whole new look.
“Once the customer’s desired style is created, we tell her how to put the wig on and how to care for it, which is almost always with neutral shampoos, not scrubbing the wig when washing it, but rather submerging it in warm water with the shampoo, not to blow-dry it, especially if the hair is synthetic and to brush it carefully,” Inma tells us.
The other option that many patients choose is the use of headscarves or seamless microfiber tube scarves. They are easy to put on and fit your head perfectly without causing irritation or allergies.
Pigmentation-based esthetic treatments
Other alterations in personal appearance caused by cancer treatments are in the eyebrows, eyelashes, and nails. “When eyebrow hair disappears, you can draw them on, or they can be dyed even before the cancer treatment. For lashes, make-up guidelines are recommended, and for nails, the changes have to do with the appearance of horizontal and vertical ridges, lack of growth, softening or thickening,” Nuria Ayuso tells us. We advise against using cuticle cutters or other tools that can cause cuts in the skin. Permanent nail polishes are not recommended. Hands should be kept moisturized with creams and specific nail moisturizing treatments.
Mastectomy solutions
“If the patient has undergone a total or partial mastectomy, there are different types of prostheses with different shapes, profiles and sizes to offer maximum comfort, but above all safety when wearing them,” comments the Prosthetics Technician Luz Gómez of Beauty Studio Center. There are many options for both lingerie and prosthetics within the field of oncological prosthetics and corsetry to help patients feel comfortable and good about themselves when they look in the mirror.
As you can see, there are countless options available and tricks to help breast cancer patients feel good about themselves and their personal appearance, while also feeling cared for and stylish. Consulting with personal image professionals is fundamental to a successful outcome and to truly meeting the patient’s needs.
