During the month of October, the Port Huron Campus of Ross Medical Education chose to support the Beauty & Healing program offered at McLaren Port Huron. The program is designed to help women who are undergoing cancer treatment by providing strategies for combating the physical and emotional changes brought on by cancer therapy.
There are many detrimental physical and emotional changes that can be caused by surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. These changes can leave a person with low self-esteem, poor body-image and feeling the loss of, “who they used to be.” The side effects of cancer treatment include skin sensitivity so that the touch of clothing and even makeup can be irritating. They also include bruise-like darkening or even loss of finger and toenails, acne-like skin rashes and burns, dry flaking skin, loss of eyelashes and eyebrows, etc.
Women who attend meetings of the Beauty & Healing program are provided with lessons, tips and tricks to help them deal with the side effects of cancer treatments. Seminars are hosted on skincare, makeup application, and the use of scarves as head coverings. Additionally, McLaren Port Huron has a wig bank, and the participants are able to choose a wig, free of charge. The goal of the program is to provide support for women while they regain their self-confidence and pamper them a little bit as well.
The staff, students and faculty at the Port Huron campus were excited and honored to collect purse or travel size tissues, lip balm and hand or body lotions to donate to the Beauty & Healing program. The donations will be included in gift packs and passed out to women at McLaren who are undergoing cancer treatment. The Port Huron campus was able to collect over one hundred items to donate, which were personally delivered to Kelly DiNardo, McLauren Port Huron’s Regional Community Outreach Specialist by Faith Kirnberger, Career Development Representative. Ms. DiNardo expressed her gratitude saying, “Thank you for supporting our cancer program, Beauty & Healing. The women who attend are so grateful for your support! We truly appreciate your efforts.”
This empowering program meets on the fourth Thursday of each month (excluding December) at 1:00 p.m. at the Jefferson Building in Port Huron. More information can be found on their website: McLaren Port Huron Beauty and Healing. Anyone who could benefit from some Beauty and Healing is encouraged to attend the meetings.