This year marks a quarter of a century since Look Good Feel Better (LGFB) volunteers began helping New Zealand women with cancer to face the disease with confidence.
They run workshops to help women manage the appearance-related side effects caused by cancer treatment.
Many women lose their hair, their eyebrows and eyelashes, temporarily, through chemotherapy.
Thirty-eight thousand women have so far been through the classes and there are 460 volunteers.
Sadly, this is not a niche market.
For each attendee there is a volunteer (many are trained makeup artists) to give skin care and makeup advice and to apply each woman’s own generous personalised kit, which includes moisturiser, foundation, eye makeup, blusher, lipstick and more.
And yes, it’s all free.
The 13 women at the Newtown workshop on Saturday were from Sweet Louise, a group of women with secondary, or metastatic, breast cancer.
Attendee Jayne Tranter says it’s really beneficial for people who’ve had treatment, or are receiving treatment.
“It makes you feel better about yourself. We get really amazing products to take home! It’s worth a lot of money, hopefully everyone will use them, I know I will”, she said.
Volunteer Tutor Maureen Wagg says one of these classes is held in Wellington every three weeks, such is the demand.
“It’s wonderful to be able to impart knowledge to people who have been under a lot of medical stress and to be able to give them a lovely pampering session,” she said.
On the surface, everyone looks remarkably well.
But one woman couldn’t make it to the class because she was having fluid drained from her abdomen - a keen reminder that breast cancer kills more than 600 women in New Zealand each year.
The women have answered questions before coming here, describing their hair colour, skin tone and preferences around makeup.
Volunteers in Auckland assemble the kits from makeup donated by the likes of Lancome, Chanel, Revlon and Avon.
The Wellington session involves pampering in the form of a facial and hand massage and of course a makeover. There’s also advice about wigs.
Volunteer and makeup artist Donna Kelly donates her time and her skills.
“I feel I can help make people feel better. When I leave here I’m on a real high. I get such satisfaction, seeing the smiles on the ladies’ faces at the end of it, that makes me happy”, she said.
The idea began in the US, when the daughter of the owner of an American cosmetics company received a revitalising make-over after she lost her hair through cancer treatment.
She then approached big cosmetic companies to donate products for classes for cancer patients. That was in 1987.
The room is filled with laughter and chat. In fact Mrs Wagg has to repeatedly ring a bell to return everyone’s attention to the front of the class.
It’s upbeat, positive and fun, though not everyone’s happy to be photographed. Some haven’t yet shared their challenging diagnosis with colleagues or friends.
For more information, or to fundraise or volunteer, visit their website.
Newshub.
