Women Don’t Stop Being Women with Cancer

You didn’t stop being a woman when you were diagnosed with cancer but, in many respects, you have stopped being treated like one. No longer are you able to relax and enjoy products from Selfridges Beauty Hall (or the cosmetics aisle at Morrisions). Someone has told you to avoid a few of the ingredients in cosmetics but you’re not entirely sure what they are and which products they are in. Gone are the luxurious and delicately fragranced, beautifully wrapped serums, lotions and potions only to be replaced by thick white gloopy cream from a plastic pump topped dispenser – that’s your new skincare regime? You didn’t sign up for this.

Worse, your skin isn’t your skin anymore, it is itchy and sore and it reacts angrily when you put your favourite moisturiser on it. Losing you hair and feeling poorly you were prepared for, but this??? Nobody mentioned your nails either did they?

Women and Skin Care

I hear this all of the time from cancer patients, each one thinking it is just them, or not wanting to ask about maintaining their appearance as they have cancer and so, to worry about how they look is shallow and unnecessary, but worry they do. Shallow and unnecessary it is not.

It was being told of all of these extra burdens carried by cancer patients that provided the motivation to create the Defiant Beauty Skincare Collections.  A group of patients and survivors from my local hospital asked me to work with them to develop a range. The staff joined in and Defiant Beauty was the result. You can learn more about our skincare for cancer patients here.

Skincare was just the beginning – more products have followed – all at the request of cancer patients, charities or support groups. The new collections are created using the same ingredients criteria set out by the NHS team that we worked with.

Meeting the Needs of Women with Cancer

Still, we were failing to meet the needs of women with cancer  – www.beautydespitecancer.co.uk goes some way towards meeting those remaining needs.

We created a magazine as it was very clear that women with cancer are treated differently and they don’t want to be. Our online mag is a women’s magazine containing the information you have asked for- cancer specific beauty and well-being.  Business and finances are covered, as are insurance, and post –treatment health concerns. We've even included fashion for cancer patients!

Don’t stop being a woman when you are diagnosed with cancer - recognise you