Cancer patients and cancer survivors have been eager to show that their lives are not all about medications and treatment but can be full of enjoyment and beauty. Ranging in age from their thirties to their fifties, cancer patients and survivors gathered earlier this month at the Cairo premises of CanSurvive, a NGO, hoping to gain a new look. The women were accompanied by four make-up artists from a renowned cosmetic company, whose products are 100 per cent environmentally friendly according to its Website, to learn useful beauty tips. At the beginning of the session the women discussed the problems they had encountered on their treatment paths, including the barriers they faced in government hospitals. However, when the make-up artists arrived and started to apply make-up much of the pain and disadvantages seemed to go away. Though used to wearing make-up, Mounira Labib, a cancer patient, asked the make-up artist about different beauty tips. “Skin colour gets darker during chemotherapy treatment,” Labib said, and the make-up artist advised her to use a sunblock free of chemicals. Hekmat Mahran, one of the make-up artists participating in the event, said that patients should always apply chemical-free cosmetics to avoid possible harm. Mahran said that through her and the company's participation in the event the idea was to support cancer patients and to make them feel happier and improve their psychological well-being. She added that this feeling could be reciprocal, since she also felt happier if she succeeded in changing a patient's mood for the better. “When patients experience a positive change, they feel better and more feminine,” Mahran said. Despite what the patients go through, many of them still take care of their looks. This was their right, said Esraa Al-Sherbiny, an advocate at CanSurvive. Speaking about the theme of the event, she said that despite the pain it was important for patients to keep their self-respect. The effects of the disease could reflect the patients' social lives and the feelings of people surrounding them, she said. “People are not used to seeing them look different. Some are oversensitive, and others are zero sensitive as a result,” though Al-Sherbiny said that she met few patients who were not sensitive about their looks. Professor of psychiatry at Al-Azhar University in Cairo Adel Al-Madani said that the changes patients experience in their bodies and faces during treatment could isolate them from society. The use of cosmetics to regain their looks could make patients feel more acceptable to people who would then stop asking them what the matter was, he said. “The effects of the disease are less noticeable, which improves patients' morale,” Al-Madani explained, adding that this could also help the body overcome part of the cancer or conquer it. An American writer had apparently been able to defeat her cancer by living her life normally, saying “I will conquer cancer,” he added. However this may be, the cosmetics day held in Cairo seemed to help alter the patients' and survivors' psychological well-being, especially as they were able to socialise and have fun as well. Al-Sherbiny said that the participants had had different reactions to the event, often depending on educational background. Outgoing and employed patients had thought the event essential, she said, while others had considered it to be a luxury. Al-Sherbiny said that cancer was often accompanied by a social stigma that could become a hindrance to the patient in addition to the burdens of the disease. “Doctors fight the tumour, while we support those living with cancer,” she said, adding that the idea now was to repeat the day on a larger scale and produce a booklet with photographs on beauty tips to be distributed to female patients in Egypt. CanSurvive also intended to pay special attention to palliative care, she said, and was producing materials on this in Arabic. Palliative care is intended to make patients' lives easier and to try to soothe the disease. For example, after a mastectomy a patient's arm can feel useless, and exercise can help it to heal faster, as can the right food. CanSurvive also concentrates on public awareness about cancer risk factors, such as knowing family histories and the importance of periodical examinations or actions to take if a person feels vulnerable. It also provides people with places where they can seek advice. In addition to supporting patients by helping them deal with any problems they face while applying for treatment at state expense or with their health insurance, the organisation also provides educational materials about cancer and the treatment process. It also works to help empower patients psychologically. Al-Sherbiny added that the organisation was taking on a campaigning role by pressing for reforms to the health system, modifications to health insurance laws, and plans to present a patients' rights charter to the upcoming People's Assembly that would help to benefit patients. The charter is being drawn up in cooperation with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), a NGO, and will be based on the results of a survey of cancer patients and former cancer patients. CanSurvive is also working to educate people free of cancer and teach them how to listen to their bodies. “We aim to teach them how to communicate with their bodies, so that whenever a problem occurs they know which doctor to visit,” Al-Sherbiny said. It also aims to emphasise that in many cases despite their sickness patients can live their lives normally. Al-Sherbiny emphasised the importance of seeing cancer patients on their best form, as this could encourage others to go for examination, proving that life goes on and patients can live their lives normally despite the sometimes negative messages transmitted by the media. The writer is a freelance journalist
