One of the biggest challenges for women battling cancer is dealing with physical changes such as hair loss. To meet this challenge, City of Hope Orange County on Friday gave a special group of cancer survivors a complete makeover ahead of the holiday season.
Joanna Mendez, 42, a cancer survivor who spent the morning at the salon, said, “[I]have a little more eyelash growth, a slightly thinner look, and a little more glamor.” . “I feel very special right now.”
This extravagant day was made possible through generous donations from former cancer patients at City of Hope. The renovations will take place at Marybell’s Salon, located within the Irvine Treatment Center and offering free services to patients.
“Today we’re holding a special event for some of our patients. It’s a great day,” said Annette Walker, president of City of Hope Orange County. “When you get cancer, various attacks occur on your body, which can affect your body, mind, and spirit. We aim to be a place where patients can be beautiful.”
Mendez said she’s looking forward to feeling like herself again.
“Like everything else that goes into healing, I think the healing we need is to be happy with ourselves and to look in the mirror and be happy with the person looking back at us,” she said. Ta.
The Hacienda Heights resident was diagnosed with endometrial cancer in June 2023, which she said was especially devastating because it came just two months after losing her mother to breast cancer. Ta.
“The second hardest thing was losing my hair,” Mendez said. “My uterus is gone. All I have left is my hair, and that too has been taken away.”
This physical change was also a challenge for Rachel Dumaine, who wore a new wig.
“When you become a woman, you lose all your hair, your eyebrows, your eyelashes,” Dumaine said. “It’s kind of devastating. It’s not so much the beauty, it’s the fact that I don’t look like myself that hurts so much.”
Dumaine said she was excited about her new look, and that day also happened to be Mendes’ birthday.
“This birthday for me means the rebirth of Joanna who is no longer here, but the birth of a new Joanna,” she said. “Sometimes I don’t feel beautiful, but in this moment I feel beautiful.”
