The power of a reflection: helping women rebuild confidence after cancer

After years of dedication and planning by the Joining the Dots team, the first Look Good Feel Better (LGFG) workshop in rural County Durham took place on Friday 3 July, kindly hosted by No. 17 Café in Dipton.

The group included women at different stages of cancer treatment, as well as those who had completed treatment. Each participant came with different needs, from learning how to care for their nails and adjust to changes in their appearance, to applying make-up after changes to their skin, hair and nails. Some had developed skin sensitivities, while one participant, who had never worn make-up before, wanted to learn how to recreate eyebrows after losing her own.

LGFG work in partnership with the beauty business and had great goody bags for each participant. This allowed everyone to work through the whole process from skin care and preparation to applying different beauty products and learning how to create realistic eyebrows with makeup.

It was an emotional process to witness; everyone looked wonderful when they arrived, but they were more uplifted when they left. One participant was visibly moved when she saw her reflection after creating her brows, and commented: “I’ve not seen myself with eyebrows for such a long time.” Another joked: “We really are learning to join the dots here!”

Feedback from the event has been very positive with one participant saying:

“All the volunteers were cheerful, friendly and welcoming. They created an environment where people were comfortable and it made for a really nice, positive upbeat afternoon.

“I wasn't sure what to expect from this session to be honest. But I was keen to attend a session that was much closer to home than I had seen before and in a cafe, (I was daunted by sessions in a hospice environment, and hospital inner city driving and parking is stressful).

“I found the afternoon to be a really upbeat and positive session. The bag of products were fabulous and I was a bit speechless at the contents but I think that was a shared feeling and it was nice for us to open these as a group. Everyone relaxed throughout the session with supportive good humoured volunteers.

“The collective positivity and then everyone feeling better about the way they looked at the end was really nice to be part of, I left feeling really upbeat, I had a really nice afternoon with people in similar situations but focused on a more positive less serious topic (not sitting chatting in a hospital waiting room or hooked up to chemo for example).

Thank you very much for the session, the support and the gift bag. Amazing.”

Further workshops will take place at No. 17 Café on Friday 28 August, Friday 16 October and Friday 11 December, all running from 4pm to 6pm. Book directly with Look Good Feel Better at https://lookgoodfeelbetter.co.uk/ or by contacting a member of the Joining the Dots team.

Joining the Dots is a part of Adult Wellbeing Services, delivered in partnership by Pioneering Care Partnership and County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT).