Pia's Look Good.. Feel Better Chronicles

A couple of weeks ago (I am sorry it has taken me so) I had the honor of interviewing yet another graduate — Darla Humrich. What follows is my account of Darla’s story.

Darla was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. Darla’s diagnosis left her entire family in shock. Darla’s husband, her three children, and her church were immensely supportive. Especially supportive was a friend’s mom who had recently received a similar diagnosis and had the good fortune of attending a Look Good...Feel Better session. Darla was encouraged by her friend to call her local hosipital in Denver, Colarado to find out how she could attend a LGFB session.

Upon entering the session, Darla felt nervous, not sure what to expect, especially since she really didn’t know others who had cancer. Darla brought her sister along with her for moral support. But once the session began, all her thoughts and feelings about cancer just went away — even if just for 2 hours. The luxurious bag of cosmetics made her feel like it was Christmas! Darla told me she still uses the tips about how to apply eyeliner that she learned at her session in 2002.

Emotionally at this point in her life, Darla felt alone and different. She didn’t feel like herself and hence hesitated going out in public. She didn’t like the way people stared at her. Eventually, she made this into a game she played with her then eight–year–old daughter. "The make–up made me a whole new me!" recollected Darla. She could in fact feel normal and pretty despite having cancer.

Darla, healthy and cancer free has also worked closely with the Look Good...Feel Better program. She was Dreamgirl 2003 and now helps organize the LGFB classes at numerous hospitals in Denver. Thank you Darla for taking the time to share your story with us. Clearly, her account is yet another testament to the lasting power of the Look Good...Feel Better program. Stay tuned for my next interview!

Since my official appointment in February 2006 I have had a number of exciting opportunities. As I mentioned, I was able to share my story in front of hundreds of guests at the annual Look Good...Feel Better/American Cancer Society DreamBall Gala. It was a glittering event, where I received star treatment at all levels. Before the event, through the generosity of Pamela Baxter at Christian Dior, I had the chance to peruse the celebrity closet at Dior. What an incredibly glamorous experience. I felt like a movie star! Not to mention the fact that I was able to borrow a John Galiano dress for the event. Did I say dress? That doesn’t do it justice. . .I meant gown. It was chiffon with sequins–the color was somewhere between a deep purple and midnight blue. My favorite part of the gown was a little train at the back that gave it that ooh, black tie, gala, "pinch-me-am-I-going-to-the-Academy-Awards?" kind of look!

Part of what is really great about being named DreamGirl are the wonderful people you get to meet. I had the chance to meet the three 2006 DreamBall honorees, each a beauty industry giant in their own right–Jack Stahl, former president and CEO of Revlon, Charles Townsend, president and CEO of Condé Nast Publications, and Peter Born, vice president and executive director, Women’s Wear Daily and Women’s Wear Daily Beauty Biz. (Pretty fabulous, I say!)

I have also had the opportunity to attend several Look Good. . .Feel Better sessions and meet many women who are facing the battle of their lives–cancer. Through hearing their amazing stories and observing the impact that Look Good. . .Feel Better has had in their lives, I decided that I wanted their experiences to be shared with others who might be able to benefit from them. Thus, "Pia’s Look Good. . .Feel Better Chronicles" was created! Not only does this blog serve as a forum to tell my story, but it is also for those whose lives have been impacted by cancer and the Look Good. . .Feel Better program. (To hear more about why I wanted to capture the stories of other women facing cancer and their Look Good. . .Feel Better experience, please click the "Pia 3" link.)

Because of this "project", all my friends at the Personal Care Products Council Foundation have officially dubbed me "Look Good. . .Feel Better Ambassador." DreamGirl 2006 to Look Good. . .Feel Better Ambassador, how could I possibly carry any more honorable titles?

"Right place, right time" is an often thought of a cliché, and in the case of how I became DreamGirl 2006 — it definitely rings true. It all started with a wonderful friend of mine who works in the beauty industry and is a member of an organization called Cosmetic Executive Women (CEW). She invited me to help her sell raffle tickets for the annual CEW Holiday Luncheon, which supports the CEW charitable initiative, Cancer and Careers. By the way, in case you’re wondering, CEW is a nonprofit trade organization based in New York City with over 4,000 members who are executives in the beauty, cosmetics, fragrance, and related industries. So, to make a long story short, my friend and I sold the greatest number of raffles and as part of our prize we had the wonderful opportunity of meeting and having lunch with a highly respected executive in the beauty industry — Pamela Baxter, president and CEO of LVMH Perfumes and Cosmetics, North America. At our lunch with Pamela Baxter, the news of my story quickly emerged, including my heart-warming experience at a Look Good ... Feel Better (Look Good. . .Feel Better) session. Well, believe it or not, the next week I got an email from Ms. Baxter telling me about the DreamBall as the annual fundraising gala for Look Good. . .Feel Better and asking if I might be interested in sharing my story and experience with the program. Of course, I was so honored but the position was not mine just yet. A few weeks later I met with Louanne Roark, vice president of the Personal Care Products Council Foundation, which runs Look Good...Feel Better, collaborating with the American Cancer Society and the National Cosmetology Association to deliver the program.

Once again, over a lovely lunch we talked about cancer, love, life, losses, pain and triumph. A few days later I received a very uplifting phone call from Louanne to share with me that yes, indeed I would be DreamGirl 2006! Life is funny that way, huh?

At the Look Good...Feel Better session I attended, the two facilitators that afternoon were volunteers from a large cosmetic company. They guided us through the twelve steps of skin care and demonstrated how to care for our skin and enhance our changing skin and appearance as a result of the chemotherapy we were receiving. At a time when so many of the elements in our life seemed out of control, the Look Good. . .Feel Better volunteers showed us how we could in fact look and feel beautiful. Through the two-hour session I could not help but feel so grateful to be part of this program. To learn about beauty and makeup was exciting, but to participate in the session with other women, who just like me, had cancer, was transforming. Each woman in the room shared an experience similar to mine. We were sisters, united by a cancer diagnosis that would in most cases result in hair loss, skin and nail changes and above all a fundamental change in who we were. Yet, through the support of the program, we would overcome these challenges.

(Click the "Pia 1" link to actually see and hear me talk more about my Look Good. . .Feel Better experience) So, once again I ask what does it mean to be a Dream Girl and a Look Good. . .Feel Better Ambassador? Well, I have the honor to not only share my story about how Look Good... Feel Better impacted me – as a woman, as a cancer patient, and most importantly as a human, but meet other women who have similar stories to tell about the program. Remembering all of this, I cannot help but think about some of the other inspiring women I know (some more personally than others) who have experienced cancer. There are two people I am thinking of in particular today. The first is Susan Butcher &ndash four-time winner of the Iditarod, who passed away in August 2006 after her leukemia relapsed. Though I did not know her personally the fact that she and I shared the same disease made me feel connected to her. She too had to search for a donor in order to have a stem-cell transplant, and unfortunately despite having one, the leukemia took over. I am also thinking about another friend of mine, Erin Zammett Ruddy, a staffer at Glamour magazine who interviewed Susan Butcher. (Erin has her own blog that you may want to check out). Erin has Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia – a slow progressing form of leukemia that gradually develops over time. Thanks to lots of scientists and drug research she has been in remission for about three years. But when someone passes away, or I think back on my experience with Look Good Feel Better, I see the power of cancer and the power that a program like Look Good. . .Feel Better has to change the world. All of us women with cancer – affected so differently by the disease, and yet bonded together by a powerful force. To come back to my story – I found my stem-cell donor – a person who I don’t know much about except that the genetic typing of her white blood cells matched mine — perfectly. My donor generously agreed to donate her stem cells to save my life. The process of a stem-cell transplant is essentially getting a new immune system – a healthy one that does not contain any cancer cells. All of us have stem cells — they are the cells that grow into other cells, and hence form the basis of our immune system. My transplant consisted of stem cells from an adult donor (embryonic stem cells are not used for stem-cell transplants.) So how in the world did "I" get to become DreamGirl 2006?! More in my next entry!