Coping with Cancer from the Outside In
A new campaign addresses skin-related side effects of EGFR inhibitors.
Hats Offer Hope
In October 2007 a friend asked Jennifer Aquino if she could knit a hat for a little girl who was undergoing cancer treatment. Jennifer made the hat and placed it in a cute little box for the child.
Denosumab Shows Bone Benefits in Two Pivotal Studies
Denosumab increases bone mineral density (BMD) and reduces the risk of vertebral fractures in women with postmenopausal osteoporosis as well as men treated with androgen deprivation therapy for non-metastatic prostate cancer, according to the results of two pivotal studies published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Look Good…Feel Better
Practical beauty information helps improve confidence, courage, and hope among women living with cancer.
Denosumab More Effective than Zometa in Patients with Bone Metastases
Among women with bone metastases from breast cancer, the investigational drug denosumab was more effective than Zometa® (zoledronic acid) at reducing the risk of bone complications such as fracture.
Additional Articles
Look Good…Feel Better and the Lipstick Theory (Summer 2009)
Tips and Insights by author and 2008 DreamGirl Geralyn Lucas
Supportive Care News (Summer 2009)
Denosumab Shows Benefit in Patients with Bone Metastases and Prior Bisphosphonate Therapy
Supportive Care News (Spring 2009)
Look Good…Feel Better (Spring 2009)
The groundbreaking program reaches a 20-year milestone.
Insomnia
(Winter 2008)
If you have trouble sleeping, some new interventions may help.
Look Good…Feel Better
(Winter 2008)
Straight (and Curly) Talk About Wig Care
Supportive Care News
(Winter 2008)
Zometa Helps Prevent Bone Loss in Early Breast Cancer
Chemo Brain
(Fall 2008)
This often-unexpected side effect of cancer treatment leaves many patients experiencing
debilitating cognitive effects after chemotherapy. Luckily, research and awareness
are catching up.
Look Good ...Feel Better®
(Fall 2008)
A Touch of Color: Creating Your Best Look
Supportive Care News
(Fall 2008)
• More than Half of Oncology Nurses Stop or Delay Chemotherapy Due to Nausea
and Vomiting
• Denosumab Shows Promise in Women with Postmenopausal Osteoporosis
Nail Care Tips During Cancer Treatment
(Summer 2008)
Look Good ...Feel Better®
Supportive Care News
(Summer 2008)
• New NCCS Survivorship Program Aims to Combat Patients’ Fears of Chemotherapy
and Encourage Active Participation
• ODAC Recommends Approval of Nplate
Supportive Care News
(Spring 2008)
• Denosumab Improves Bone Density in Breast Cancer Patients
• Zometa Prevents Bone Loss in Breast Cancer Patients
Complementary Medicine and Cancer Care
(Spring 2008)
There has recently been a level of growing optimism within the cancer community
as reports have shown a decline in deaths from cancer.
Skin Care Solutions
(Spring 2008)
Beauty productst created specifically for cancer survivors. These products to help
ease the effects of treatment are designed by people who truly want to improve survivors'
quality of life.
Easy Does It
(Spring 2008)
Simple techniques can help prevent lymphedema in breast cancer patients
The Art of Stylish Head Coverings
(Spring 2008)
Create your individual look using hats, scarves, turbans, and hairpieces.
Heads Above the Rest
(Spring 2008)
Two companies founded by survivors create head coverings for patients managing hair
loss.
Supportive Care News
(Winter 2007)
• Preventive Treatment Reduces Risk of Febrile Neutropenia and Early Death
• Senate Asks Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to Review Restrictions
on Erythropoietic Stimulating Agents
• Neulasta Reduces Risk of Neutropenia in Colorectal Cancer Patients
What to Wear When You Have Breast Cancer
(Winter 2007)
From post-surgery camisoles to mastectomy-friendly workout wear, our expert has
answers to questions you never even knew you had.
Eyes as a Mirror to the Soul
(Winter 2007)
Tips for re-creating eyebrows and eye lashes.
Supportive Care News
(Fall 2007)
Ginseng May Improve Cancer-related Fatigue
Eye on the Prize
(Fall 2007)
Throughout her cancer treatment, Look Good…Feel Better® Dream Girl Jayne Jamison
remained focused on the things that made her happy, including her career and the
wedding that she wasn’t about to miss.
Look Good...Feel Better (Fall 2007)
My experience with the Look Good…Feel Better program began in June 2004, after I
was diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) for the second time.
Look Good ...Feel Better® (Summer 2007)
Improving Your Look with a Little Cover: Concealer, Foundation, and Powder
Supportive Care News
(Summer 2007)
• Some Chinese Herbs Reduce Nausea Associated with Chemotherapy
The Gift of Dignity
(Spring 2007)
At the end of life, a simple intervention offers comfort and meaning to patients
and families.
Cancer and Massage
(Spring 2007)
Is your therapist trained to address your needs?
Look Good... Feel Better (Spring 2007)
Addressing Appearance-related Concerns Due to Cancer Treatment
Supportive Care News
(Spring 2007)
•Neurontin May Reduce Frequency of Hot Flashes
•Early Use of Neulasta Reduces Complications from Neutropenia in Non-Hodgkin’s
and Hodgkin’s Lymphomas
Look Good...Feel Better (Winter 2006)
Look Good…Feel Better (LGFB) is a free, nationwide cancer support program created
in 1989 from the concept that if a woman with cancer can be helped to look good,
her improved self-esteem will help her approach her disease and treatment with greater
confidence. Look Good…Feel Better teams volunteer beauty professionals with female
cancer patients in active treatment, to provide practical tips on the use of cosmetics,
wigs, and head coverings to camouflage the appearance-related side effects of cancer
treatment. The program is conducted as a two-hour workshop offered in many hospitals
and cancer-care facilities across the country.
Supportive Care News
(Winter 2006)
• Kepivance® Reduces Mucositis in Colorectal Cancer Patients Receiving 5-FU
• Neulasta® Safe and Effective for Hodgkin’s Patients Treated with ABVD Chemotherapy
Look Good...Feel Better (Fall 2006)
Beginning in this issue of Women&Cancer, Look Good . . . Feel Better, will contribute
a regular column designed to bring readers practical tips on skin care, makeup techniques,
and guidance for coping with hair loss and other appearance-related side effects
patients may experience during cancer treatment. Future columns will focus on specific
concerns from women and tips from some seasoned Look Good . . . Feel Better experts
and volunteers. When a woman undergoes cancer treatment, she is usually aware that
there may be some change to her appearance, such as the hair loss that often results
from chemotherapy. What she may not be aware of, however, are the facial, skin,
and nail changes that often occur during various forms of cancer treatment.
Life’s Lessons Learned Early: Pia Awal
Shares Her Experience as a Young AML Survivor (Fall 2006)
When Pia Awal went to the emergency room in June 2002 after suffering from a fever
that antibiotics couldn’t wipe out and bone pain that was getting increasingly worse,
the last thing she expected to hear was a cancer diagnosis. And when the doctors
delivered the news that her symptoms were the result of acute myelogenous leukemia
(AML), the 27-year-old’s world shifted. She didn’t leave the hospital that night,
and she stayed for a month as doctors immediately began a course of treatment that
would include intense chemotherapy designed to wipe out and then rebuild her immune
system. Memories of the side effects of that high-dose treatment still make her
shudder. “I was extremely sick from the get-go. The chemotherapy made me sick within
three hours. The antinausea drug they were using was totally ineffective. It was
pretty horrific. I lost about 20 pounds.”
When Survival Brings No Joy: Depression
and Cancer (Fall 2006)
Though an estimated 25 percent of cancer patients experience depression at some
point during their illness—and despite the fact that untreated depression can affect
quality of life, cancer treatment decisions, and possibly survival—depression often
goes untreated. Why are so few cancer patients receiving care for depression? The
underrecognition and the undertreatment of depression in cancer patients may result
from several factors, including patients’ reluctance to report depression, physician
uncertainty about how best to manage it, and the belief that depression is a normal
part of having cancer.
Coping with Hair Loss: Finding the Right
Tools to Manage Hair Loss (Summer 2006)
Let me begin with the fact that not all chemotherapy causes hair loss; but if you
are one of the millions of women on this journey, I want to assure you that you
are not alone and that there are wonderful resources to help you manage the effects
of your treatment.
Sex After Cancer: Regaining the Joy of
Intimacy (Summer 2006)
Whatever your concerns about sexuality or intimacy, overcoming them requires open
communication with your partner. Dr. Sally Kydd, coauthor of the book Intimacy After
Cancer: A Woman’s Guide (Big Think Media, October 2006), refers to concerns about
sexuality and intimacy as “the elephant in the room that no one talks about but
that affects almost every woman treated for cancer.” The many physical and emotional
changes that follow a cancer diagnosis can affect sex and intimacy. Openly addressing
these changes with your partner and your healthcare team will help resolve problems
that may arise and will allow you to continue to experience the joy of positive
intimate and sexual relationships.
Supportive Care News
(Summer 2006)
"Life doesn’t stop happening to you even when you get cancer,” Suzanne Guerrero
says, and she ought to know. The 40-year-old Boise, Idaho, resident is currently
undergoing treatment for stage I invasive breast cancer.