Monday, Sep. 21, 2009

Rantin: Survivor looks good, feels better

Vicki Everhart knows that cancer and beauty aren’t mutually exclusive.

Following a breast cancer diagnosis in October 2007, the Columbia woman faced many of the self-esteem issues that can accompany that kind of news.

But along the road to recovery, Everhart found help making the most of her appearance, and she’s been tapped as a role model for other women battling the disease.

The 59-year-old is one of five women selected as national honorees for the Look Good Feel Better program. The free, nonmedical, national public service program helps people with cancer look good, improve their self-esteem, and manage their treatment and recovery.

Everhart was selected on the basis of an essay from among more than 150 submissions. In the essay, she speaks of some of the darker moments of her treatment and the help she received in regaining a sense of self-worth.

She had been told about the Look Good Feel Better program by a nurse at Palmetto Health Richland, where she was receiving treatment.

“She told me about the program and encouraged me to sign up for it. I honestly didn’t feel like it and put it off,” Everhart said. “But she told me that it would make me feel better and look better, and that’s exactly what it did.”

Halfway though her chemotherapy treatments, Everhart signed up for one of the workshops, where she received tips on dealing with many of the appearance issues related to cancer. The classes included such things as how to deal with sallow skin and missing eyebrows.

“They offered one-on-one assistance, and wrapped up the session with a scarf-tying demonstration, something only a bald woman can truly appreciate and get excited about,” Everhart said. “The program facilitators quickly made us feel at ease by acknowledging the difficult journey we shared.”

She calls the workshop a “turning point” in her cancer treatment.

“I was so tired and drained from treatments and really only wanted to curl up in a corner,” she said. “When I left, I felt like I had gotten a new lease on life, and felt pretty for the first time in months.”

Louanne Roark, executive director of the Personal Care Products Council Foundation and the Look Good Feel Better program, said that Everhart’s essay stood out from the many submitted.

“She focused on the tremendous impact her Look Good, Feel Better session had on her emotional and physical well-being, and her story is an inspiration to other women undergoing treatment.”

Everhart completed her treatments in June 2008 and remains cancer free.

She will receive a free trip to New York this week to attend the DreamBall, the annual black-tie gala at the Waldorf Astoria that is the largest fundraiser for the Look Good, Feel Better program. Prior to the event, she’ll receive a makeover by Avon makeup artists.

Her hope is for other women to benefit from the same support she received.

“You get so wrapped up on your treatments, that you kind of lose yourself,” she said. “I walked out of there feeling beautiful. It helped me regain my dignity. Because going bald is a big dignity buster.”

There are several Midlands area programs available to residents:

Columbia:

Palmetto Cancer Centers at Palmetto Health Baptist, (803) 296-3000

Palmetto Cancer Centers at Palmetto Health Richland, (803) 296-3000

South Carolina Oncology, (803) 461-3000

West Columbia:

Lexington Medical Center, (803) 791-2521

Orangeburg:

The Regional Medical Center of Orangeburg and Calhoun Counties, (803) 395-4705

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