Salina ? Bobbie Freyholtz thought she had prepared herself, but when she looked in the mirror, it still was a shock.

Looking back at her was a Bobbie she didn’t recognize – a Bobbie with no hair and pale, dry, blotchy skin. A Bobbie who reflected the devastating side-effects of chemotherapy.

On Aug. 17, during what was supposed to be a routine hysterectomy for Freyholtz, 55, doctors discovered a tumor that they diagnosed as Stage 4 ovarian cancer, an aggressive and often deadly form of the disease. The Salina woman immediately was scheduled for chemotherapy treatments.

After three sessions, Freyholtz began to respond positively. But she also began to feel the adverse effects of chemotherapy: nausea, hair loss and changes in her complexion and skin tone.

Freyholtz was self-conscious about the radical changes in her appearance. Mostly, she was worried about upsetting her young grandchildren, who didn’t understand why grandma was so sick-looking and losing all her hair.

“They looked at me differently, so I wanted to do whatever I could to make them feel comfortable with me again,” she said. “It was also important to try to feel good about myself in whatever way I could.”

Lifesaver

Then Freyholtz discovered Look Good, Feel Better, a free program co-sponsored by the American Cancer Society at the Tammy Walker Cancer Center in Salina. It’s designed to teach beauty techniques to women cancer patients to help them combat the appearance-related side effects of chemotherapy.

Cosmotologist Dixie Jones discusses proper care of a wig with Bobbie Freyholtz, of Salina, at Hair Affaire Beauty Salon, last month in Salina. After three sessions of chemotherapy, Freyholtz began to respond positively. But she also began to feel the adverse effects of chemotherapy: nausea, hair loss and changes in her complexion and skin tone.

If the program is not a literal lifesaver, then it is an much-appreciated appearance-saver.

Group programs are offered every two months at the center, where volunteer cosmetologists using donated cosmetics and skin-care products are trained to show women with cancer how to cope with skin changes and hair loss.

“Before this program, I didn’t realize how much women identify with the hair on our heads – it makes us who we are, and it can be devastating to lose it,” said Pam Ehlts, a certified cancer registrar at the Tammy Walker Cancer Center who contacts cancer patients like Freyholtz to tell them of the program. “Chemo also changes the texture of your skin, so it’s like completely starting over when it comes to applying makeup.

“We’re just trying to give these women some of their power back. While they’re in the middle of chaos, we want them to feel like they’re in control of their lives and their bodies again.”

The nationally based program also is sponsored by the National Cosmetology Foundation and the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association Foundation. The latter is a charitable organization supported by the cosmetic industry, which donates cosmetic and beauty product kits to be given free to women who attend the program.

New techniques

Most kits have $200 to $300 worth of products, including moisturizers, cleansers, cold creams, powders, blushes, lipsticks and eyeliners, said Kirsten Bruce, a Salina-based health initiatives specialist for the American Cancer Society.

“Our main goal is to make women cancer patients look as normal as possible,” she said. “We want them to be able to walk into a store and not have people know they have cancer.”

Makeup techniques covered in the program include cleansing and moisturizing dry or discolored skin; applying foundation, blush and powder; teaching women how to paint on eyebrows (which also can fall out during chemotherapy); how to wear and take care of a wig; tying scarves and wearing turbans and hats; and keeping nails strong and protected from fungal infections and brittleness.

Licensed cosmetologists are required to attend a four-hour training session through the American Cancer Society to be certified to work with cancer patients. They then must be recertified every two years, Bruce said.

Volunteer, survivor

Dixie Jones, owner of a salon in Salina is a hair stylist and cosmetologist and has volunteered for 10 years to teach the Look Good, Feel Better program locally. Jones always felt passion for the program, but it became even more important to her after she was diagnosed with cancer two years ago.

“Through my own experience with breast cancer, I knew how it felt to not have hair and to wear a wig, and how sick you can get,” said Jones, 63. “I know what they’re going through now.”

Her cancer now in remission, Jones volunteers for the group program and also conducts private sessions at her salon.

‘I can be me’

The Look Good, Feel Better program started in Salina about 20 years ago, co-sponsored by the American Cancer Society and the former St. John’s Hospital. The first volunteer was Salina cosmetologist Shirley Jorgensen.

“My sister had just died of cancer, and I felt a program like this was very important,” said Jorgensen, now retired. “It turned out to be the best thing I could have done to help me in my own grief.”

To Jorgensen, there was no greater satisfaction than meeting an ill, frightened woman and in the space of an hour teaching her how to feel better about herself. Jorgensen got to know many of these women and their families and witnessed many who overcame their cancer.

“I would pass on these success stories onto my new clients, and it helped with their own healing process,” she said.

The most valuable thing the program gave her, Freyholtz said, was the pleasure of looking in the mirror again and liking the person she saw.

“My husband noticed the difference in the way I looked right away,” she said. “Now I can get up in the morning and feel much better about myself. I can be me again.”