'Look Good, Feel Better' Program at HVHC Helps Women with Cancer

The following was provided by the Few things make a woman feel quite so vulnerable as the physical changes that often accompany cancer treatment. Hudson Valley Hospital Center hosts a program to help these courageous women rediscover their beauty.

Look Good…Feel Better® was developed by the Personal Care Products Foundation in 1989 and today partners with the American Cancer Society to provide free wigs and makeup—along with tips on how best to apply it—to women undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. The program is held every third Tuesday of the month at the Ashikari Breast Center at Hudson Valley Hospital Center. The next program is on February 21.    

“Look Good…Feel Better is a marvelous program,” says Betty Engel, Facilitator at the Ashikari Breast Center at HVHC. “When women leave a session, they’re visibly happier than when they arrived. Knowing they look good helps women heal as they continue their cancer journeys.”  

Any woman undergoing cancer treatment is welcome to attend HVHC’s sessions of Look Good…Feel Better. Each attendee receives her own makeup kit, as well as individual recommendations from a licensed, ACS-accredited cosmetologist on the makeup shades that best suit her. At the end of the session, every participant is invited to browse a selection of wigs and keep the one that looks best on her.

Cosmetologist Monica Parker Milligan of Diva Designs in Mount Vernon volunteers with the program and says that it is an uplifting experience for everyone involved.

“I always feel so good after I leave here,’’ she said after a recent session at HVHC. “It’s really fun and it provides these women with such positive energy.’’

Edith Mellino said that she really learned a lot about applying makeup and taking care of her skin and would recommend the program to anyone undergoing cancer treatment.  “This program is really wonderful,’’ she said. “I learned so much. It was a real treat.’’

To register for a Look Good…Feel Better session at HVHC, call the ACS at (800) ACS-2345 (227-2345) or visit www.cancer.org and search for “Look Good…Feel Better.” For more information about the Ashikari Breast Center, call 914-734-3490.