If you really are what you eat, then it’s crucial that chemo girls be well nourished, hydrated and make food choices that will help them stay energetic and strong during treatment.
Join us on Sunday as holistic nutritional counselor Ruth Fehr of The Palette Fund gives us a detailed list of what to buy, what to eat, and how to make whatever you’re eating taste delicious.
To learn more about Ruth, click here!
As the excitement of Christmas settles into the quiet of winter, many chemo girls and their supporters may find themselves wondering how to keep the faith and hope and spirit of the season alive in their hearts throughout the year. Join Marybeth, Debbie and their guests Rabbi Brian Leiken and Pastor Jeff Borkoski as they discuss how the joy and spirit of the season can continue to shine no matter what sickness may bring.
Visit this link, and click on “LISTEN LIVE” or tune into your local station
It’s gift-giving time of year, and many chemo girls may find themselves wondering what to ask for when friends and relatives wonder what they would like to receive – leaving those who want to make a difference and show they care very few clues about how to make their holiday present truly special.
That’s why Marybeth and Debbie asked skin consultant and philanthropist Krista Olsen Dibsie and Fashion stylist and interior designer Francine DeMarco to join us on the air Sunday December 19 to discuss all the fun, interesting, necessary and pleasing gifts chemo girls will enjoy.
So download the podcast and get great ideas, important insight and specific suggestions on what you can do or buy for both the patient and her family — then make your list, check it twice and make your present especially nice!
Skin reactions to drug therapies are very common. Let’s talk about some of the best ingredients and some things you can do to improve your skins texture and make it feel less dry…
Exfoliation using manual/ physical products like face scrubs, also, some cleansers now contain ingredients like salicylic acid or jojoba/almond spherical beads to gently rid the surface of these dead unwanted skin cells. As we age, skin takes longer to renew. New cell turnover happen every 28 days in your 20’s to every 48 – 60 days in your 40’s and 50’s. You can help shed those cells so you improve the skins natural cell turnover rate just by exfoliating!
TIP- use a warm wet, washcloth…GENTLY, out of the shower.
Moisturize, Hydrate, Brighten, Protect! The basic function of moisturizers is to prevent water loss but there’s a difference between moisturizers and ointments. Ointments act more as a barrier and protect the skin from the elements, but they do little to hydrate. Look for high performance ingredients and delivery systems, these creams may cost more, but are more effective.
Look for High Performance ingredients like Grapeseed and Green Tea extracts, Vitamins A, C, E, Hylauronic Acid, Zinc Oxide and Aloe Leaf extract. TIP-use moisturizer on damp or wet skin. Water acts as a conduit to help the treatment absorb more deeply. You also use less!
DID YOU KNOW Grapeseed extract is a natural brightener and excellent to lighten pigmentation of the skin. Green Tea is a powerful anti oxidant that protects against cellular damage. Vitamins are preservatives but in higher end treatments have higher percentages and cellular metabolism benefits. Zinc Oxide is a highly effective sunscreen and vital in preventing future sun damage to the skin.
Aloe is calming and reduces inflammation in the skin and Hylauronic acid binds 1000 X its weight in water making this an important result oriented ingredient to look for.
Photosensitivity You may have reactions to your skin when you take certain doses of a particular medication combined with sun exposure, IE: Retin-A, Acutane. In most cases it takes anywhere between 5-20 hours for you to see a sunburn or in some cases blistering, peeling swelling. TIP- If you were able to tan previous to Chemo, that does not mean you won’t have a reaction to exposure, wear sunscreen (spf 30) and definitely avoid the Tanning Salons.
Serums No longer a specialty product serums are used to increase radiance and improve the appearance of the skin quickly. OTC brands may sell for as little as $21.99, but the ingrediants are not nearly high performance. delivery system to ensure direct and complete delivery of vitamin C, resulting in the highest levels of collagen and minimizing the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines AND discoloration. Stay-C 50, a multi-functional vitamin C derivative found in Cellular Laboratories De-Aging C Serum, supports the normal production of collagen and elastin both necessary for soft, uniform and luminous skin.. And who doesn’t want that at every age?
Get a monthly facial!- Drug store brands do not have the same high performance ingredients as some spa brands and are nothing like what professional licensed Estheticians’ use. Just make sure that you check with your oncologist or doctor to make sure you don’t have any contraindications. Facials move Lymph and help the skin detox and look radiant! I especially enjoy treating my clients who have acne with soothing and calming facials and treat the skin gently before and after extractions. Next month I will be updating Beauty Lines with some great spas in New York for services.
You can join my mailing lists for great deals happening locally in the NY Metro Area for spa, salon and makeup events at www.sueperez.com
Sue Perez
With holiday parties now in full swing, it’s hard to make it across the room without finding someone holding a camera or video recorder, ready to document and preserve the fun on film or tape.
But if you’re going through chemotherapy, instead of smiling and saying cheese, you may see a camera and want to hide. It’s not easy to be festive and confident when you’re dealing with drastic changes to the way you look and feel, so we thought the best thing we could do for our sisters in need is to give them some expert advice to help them face the camera and the world with grace and style.
Listen to fashion designers Christine DeAngelo and Henry Picado, and Esthetician and makeup artist Sue Perez give chemo girls some great advice on what to wear, how to accessorize and how to care for your skin and face so that you can be your own personal best no matter what side effects chemo is creating.
Click here to listen to the podcast!
When we began writing Beauty Pearls for Chemo Girls back in 2008, we approached our project with the vision of giving women diagnosed with cancer a guide for coping, their friends and supporters a gift that could truly make a helpful difference, and everyone living through this experience an online community offering solace, strength and inspiration.
For the month of December we offer you this new chapter we call Living Pearls
Please click here to download your copy
Enjoy,
Marybeth and Debbie
In the dark of winter, holiday lights brighten our spirits and fill the air with a sense of hope and happiness… and in keeping with that spirit of brightening up even the darkest of days, Debbie and Marybeth launched our national radio show Beauty Pearls for Chemo Girls Sunday morning, bringing our message of courage and inspiration to women across America who are facing cancer treatment.
Joining us on our first show were Heidi Guest, owner of the talent and strength based consulting firm The Guest Experience, and breast cancer survivor Lisa Rae-Korboosh. These lovely ladies spoke with honesty, insight and humor about ways chemo girls and all their friends and supporters can find the strength and courage they have within themselves to make it through treatment being the best they can be.
As Heidi told us, it is the right of every human being to live life to its fullest potential, no matter what sort of difficulties or setbacks we face. We hope you’ll take a bit of time to listen to the podcast of the show and join us each week as we continue our mission to let our sisters in need know that they are not alone, and that they really can find solutions to many of the chemotherapy side effects they face.
Click here for the podcast or here for the list of stations airing the show – thanks very much!
Our National Radio Show will debut on Sunday, December 5th and 9 AM!
This week, Heidi Guest and Lisa Rae Koorbush join Debbie and Marybeth on the air to talk about finding ways to tap into your inner strength to make it through.
Click here to view more details and how to tune in!
I met Debbie Kiederer a few weeks ago and over coffee she asked me to write a guest blog. I said “What do I know? I’m a business coach…I write about marketing.” But then she asked me what I would tell someone who was invited somewhere, but was feeling crappy and didn’t want to go. I thought about it for a second and replied, “I would tell them not to go”.
Twenty-five years ago I was diagnosed with Thyroid cancer. Relatively minor in the world of cancer, but mine had spread to lymph nodes on both sides of my neck. Out came the entire thyroid and all those lymph nodes with it. Complications from the surgery kept me on tons of meds for almost a year. Today I still wake up and take five pills for those complications. But those first few years were hell. I wanted to believe everything was normal when it really wasn’t. The folks around me wanted to believe it even more than I did. And so I did my best to do all the things I would normally do…even when I didn’t want to. I went back to work too fast. I went out of town on vacation too fast. I went out with my friends when I was scared and tired and really wanted to stay home and put my head under the blankies. And when I look back, I wish I hadn’t.
I’ve been trained as a Co-Active coach. And the first principle in this school of coaching is that the client is creative, resourceful and whole. I will never assume I know better than my clients about what is right for them in their lives. I might help them make a conscious decision…and try to help them understand the consequences of their actions, but once they get that, then the decision to do or not to do something is entirely their own.
I always think the best thing to do…in any situation… is to work with what is. Cancer takes an enormous physical and emotional toll. Denial doesn’t help…and only makes things worse later on. But once we acknowledge how hard cancer is and accept that fact, it just actually may become easier to deal with. And way easier than fighting reality.
And so for that person who was feeling crappy and didn’t want to go…. If you’re like me, there’s a part of you that wants to go and another part that doesn’t . Figure out which part is the bigger part…which part will make you happier. Understand the consequences of your actions. And just do what you want.
Geri Mazur has more than 30 years experience moving people, products and brands forward. She combines strong business acumen with life coaching expertise to ensure clients get more of the good things in their lives. She has held a number of senior strategic management positions in marketing, communications and advertising, working with such well-known brands as P & G, sanofi-aventis and Pfizer. She has successfully positioned brands and companies of all sizes for growth in highly competitive markets. In addition to her extensive business experience, she is a graduate of The Coaches Training Institute, one of the few programs certified by the International Coach Federation, the largest worldwide resource for coaching and coaches. With a combination of insight and intuition, keen understanding of human nature, and practical business marketing and communications skills, Geri helps her clients see what to focus on to ensure continued success.
Singing Birds and Winter Lights – these are just two of the many things that remind me of Mum.
She loved the sound of singing birds and the sparkle of lights and every time I hear birdsong or see the winter lights in the city trees I think of Mum. I have many, many happy memories or her and our family; but unfortunately, there are the sad memories too. The smell of cigarette smoke and people smoking are particularly hard for me, as they bring back the reality of a life taken needlessly – if only she had quit smoking.
It was on a Friday in June 2005 when I received a phone call from my Dad, telling me my Mum was in the ICU with terminal lung cancer. The doctors did not expect her to last more than 3-4 days.
Time stood still. I had no idea that she was sick. When I’d last seen her four months earlier she seemed perfectly fine. Now we were being told we only had a few hours left with her. At that time my parents were living 3500 miles away in Cyprus, almost 21 hours travel time. I went into a frantic rush and within a day, began one of the longest journeys of my life, hoping with all my heart that I would get there in time.
I arrived to find my Mum in the ICU. She looked terrible; breathing through an oxygen mask, pumps with tubes everywhere. Over the next week she improved enough to be moved out of the ICU, and her diagnosis was changed to Leukemia, Emphysema, and Lymphoma. As a long time heavy smoker, her condition was blamed on this awful habit. She immediately began a course of IV chemotherapy.
I was extremely lucky and blessed to be able to stay with my parents during this time. My employer allowed me to work remotely from Cyprus and my husband was extremely supportive while remaining in the US. I spent 4-5 hours at the hospital every day, enjoying my Mum’s company with many long chats and reminiscences. It was a strangely pleasant time with lots of laughter. Her condition appeared to be moving into remission and the doctors were pleased.
On the day following her fifth course of chemotherapy, my dad and I arrived at the hospital and immediately noticed that something was terribly, terribly wrong. Mum was distant, unresponsive, her demeanor was different. She had a blank stare. The doctors came, conferred and whisked her off for a brain scan. The worst of our fears had come true – Mum had suffered a massive stroke. For the second time, time seemed to grind to a halt for me. I could hear the doctors talking, but it was like they were on TV or something, not real at all.
Realization set in. Mum had suffered an irreversible stroke. She was not likely to improve at all. Her chemo could not continue. Her condition would worsen again; there was nothing the doctors could do for her.
Mum never wanted to live like this; she had said it many times after caring for my stroke stricken Grandmother. She was now totally helpless, completely dependant on others.
Our daily visits continued but they were no longer chatty. They were long and for the most part silent. She was still Mum, but she was different. Her eyes remained sharp and watchful but the rest of her was dull and lifeless. The nurses told us that she was most likely fully aware of what had happened to her even though she was unable to communicate this lucidly. Her eyes told me this was true.
Yet one of the things that I remember most strongly about this time was her hair. Mum had beautiful, thick, blonde, wavy hair. The chemo ravaged her mane. It was ok for a while then all of a sudden it started falling out in big clumps. The nurses would take it away before we arrived in the morning, but told us how very upset the loss made Mum. Dad and I brought her hats to wear but they made her angry and upset and she refused to wear them.
Dad talked to her hairdresser and he said he would make her a wig but she refused to see him. She seemed more upset over the loss of her hair than she was over her terminal condition. This was most disconcerting for Dad and me. It took a while for us to digest this fact. The doctors were telling us she only had a few weeks of life left, yet all that seemed to matter to her was her hair. She’d lost about 90% of the hair on her head but 100% of the rest of her hair – eye lashes, eye-brows, arm hair etc. I think that that was the most shocking and striking thing for us. We are used to seeing bald people but not people without eyebrows, eyelashes etc. The hospital that my Mum was in did not have any kind of cancer care program that offered support in the hair loss or makeup department so we just had to accept it. We had no idea that there were options available to make this loss less traumatic for all involved. It never occurred to us to put makeup on her to replace her eyebrows etc. And though we did our best to try to see things from Mum’s point of view – it was very difficult for us to understand why hair mattered so much to her.
How I wish I’d had Beauty Pearls for Chemo Girls to refer to during those days. I would have understood how important Mum’s appearance was to her, and how badly she wanted to retain control of at least one aspect of her life. It would have made things so much easier for my Dad, for me and most importantly, for Mum.
She passed away seven months after her original diagnosis, five months after her massive debilitating stroke. I will always be grateful for the hours we were able to spend chatting during those initial two months, and I remember that time as a priceless gift I will always treasure.
And while she lost her life and is almost five years gone, the things she loved remain with me, and in that way, so does she. I hear her in the singing birds, I see her in the twinkling lights, and I love her as much today as I ever did.
She is always with me.
