Regaining confidence after chemo
P.E.I. woman deals with changes to her appearance after cancer treatment
After completing chemotherapy, Lori Cuddy picked up her mascara to apply to her eyelashes and realized she only had about five strands of lashes remaining.
“It felt like part of my identity was being ripped away,” she said.
In September 2023, she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She started her chemo treatment a few months later, which she completed in February 2024.
After going through treatment, she lost her eyebrows and eyelashes but was able to preserve the hair on her head during chemotherapy using something called a penguin cap. Cuddy is now returning to work and she is looking for assistance from an esthetician to understand how to apply makeup to deal with the changes in her appearance.
“You feel (like) you lose so much during this journey, that the simple act of being able to apply makeup to make you feel a little more like your pre-cancer self, for me it’s huge."
She posted on Facebook and received many offers of help. She recently attended a program offered at the Cancer Treatment Centre called Look Good Feel Better. The program provides beauty techniques to help cancer patients manage appearance-related side effects of treatment, including skin and nail care, makeup and styling.
Cuddy, who lives in Murray River, said the program was great. However, she was required to wear a mask and was unable to receive one-onone tutoring. As a result, she has opted for an aesthetician, who will offer one-on-one tips and teach her how to properly apply makeup.
Cuddy said that the makeover is more than just cosmetic. It’s a way to help her regain her self-confidence after cancer and return to her normal pre-cancer work and life schedule.
“And I know people think it's no big deal. But you know what, it is a big deal. It's kind of your identity. When you don't have your eyelashes, you don't look like yourself. And I have none,” she said.
Cuddy planned to learn from aesthetician Kelly Stewart at Renew You Salon. Stewart offers makeover services for people including those who have completed their cancer treatment.
Stewart said most women who go through chemotherapy tend to lose their selfconfidence. She said many cancer survivors tend to become introverted because
they feel uncomfortable being around people due to their appearance after undergoing cancer treatment.
They try to avoid unwanted attention and comments about their changed appearance, Stewart said.
She said makeover lessons like the one she offers serve as a great way for them to boost their self-confidence.
“If you feel good, if you look good, it just boosts your morale, it boosts your spirit,” she said.
“If you have a little bit of brow, we can tint it and colour it so that it looks like you have a lot more and there's just a lot of things that we can play with to kind of make you feel more normal.”
While she doesn’t have a program designated for cancer survivors, Stewart said she works with each patient at their pace to offer needs tailored to them.
Cuddy’s makeup lesson was scheduled for March, and she said she was excited to learn new tips.
“I'm ready to start my new life because this is really like a new life. I'm excited to find out ways that I can make myself kind of look like I did before,” Cuddy said.