JOLIET – When Samantha of “Sex and the City” lost her hair during breast cancer treatment, she took the opportunity to dazzle at her boyfriend Smith’s movie premier by sporting a flamboyant, drop-dead pink and blonde wig.

Other women may choose a more subtle temporary hair replacement – a wig of their natural hair color, a scarf or a turban. Some go bald, preferring not to cover their shiny scalps.

Whatever they choose, it’s usually a big decision, and there are programs and boutiques to help them with hair, makeup, skin care, lingerie, shapers and more.

Real-life experiences

Krystl Constantino of Joliet went to Reflections Boutique, which is run by Joliet Oncology-Hematology Associates. Constantino is battling breast cancer – which she found with a self-exam – and is getting ready for her last chemotherapy treatment.

“They did a great job at helping me with a wig,” Constantino said. “I didn’t want to do anything drastic. ... I’m Italian, and I had shoulder-length, dark brown hair. ... [My wig] is about the same color and a little bit shorter. I have a good hair day every day.”

Constantino has two children – ages 2 and 5 – and because she didn’t want them to see all the effects of her cancer and its treatments, she chose a wig that looked most like her.

The boutique also helped fit her for prosthetic breasts after her mastectomy and before her implants.

“It makes you feel so much better,” Constantino said. “It’s hard enough having a diagnosis like this. It’s nice to have a place like Reflections to go to and deal with all the other aspects of it.”

Breast cancer survivor and Morris resident Mary Jo Schuster said her cousin was a “cancer sister” who told her about the Look Good Feel Better program offered all over the country.

A doctor began the program in 1989, according to the program's website. He had a cancer patient so overwhelmed by her physical appearance from cancer treatment side effects that she wouldn't leave her hospital room. He organized a makeover for her that transformed her look – and her outlook.

The program today offers more than 15,400 workshops in more than 2,500 locations nationwide. It's run by the Personal Care Products Council, which is a charitable organization supported by the cosmetics industry in cooperation with the American Cancer Society.

Schuster attended a Look Good Feel Better program four years ago at the Radiation Therapy Center at Morris Hospital.

“I lost all my hair,” she said. “On my head, my eyebrows and eyelashes and everywhere on my body.”

Schuster wore a wig and received hands-on makeup advice and a kit to take home from the program. For Schuster, the value of the class was more than skin deep.

“Cancer treatments are full of a lot of little indignities,” she said. “It’s nice to have that pampering. And you’re in there with other gals. It’s good to find cancer sisters. I think they can be invaluable. It’s good to surround yourself with positive people.”

Caring for whole woman

Kathy McCarthy is a Look Good Feel Better teacher and co-owner of Studio 305 Salon and Spa in Lockport. McCarthy wanted women to feel better about themselves during cancer treatments. She has had breast cancer and said she still is finishing up her treatments.

“There are a lot of differences in your body when you’re on chemo or when you have radiation,” McCarthy said. “Your skin can be very dry and red, and you can have dry eye, where your eyes water all the time. ... When I had chemo with steroids, my skin got puffy, and I got puffy. After Tamoxifen, I gained weight. ... It makes you feel not as good as you used to.”

Caring about one’s appearance when ill has nothing to do with vanity.

“Your appearance is a constant reminder that you have cancer,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy said Look Good Feel Better teachers are licensed cosmetologists or aestheticians who receive special training for the class.

According to the Look Good Feel Better website, group workshops for those with cancer include two hours of skin care and makeup tips, instruction on options relating to hair loss, nail care and suggestions on flattering ways to use clothing.

“We help guide them, and they do it themselves,” McCarthy said.

There also are tutorials on the program’s website, she said. The emotional support of the classes can be a nice side benefit.

“It’s not a support group,” McCarthy said, “but sometimes you just want to get together and laugh and do girlie things. They leave feeling so good. Even their walk is different.”

Morris Hospital certified breast health nurse navigator Terri Jacob said a whole multidisciplinary team is necessary to support women through breast cancer, including plastic surgeons in some cases.

“Reconstruction after a mastectomy is a profoundly personal choice,” Jacob said. “We urge women to discuss it with their entire team.”

Breast reconstruction can be initiated at the time of the mastectomy or years later, she said.

“It’s a very emotional time for women,” Jacob said. “Many women find themselves dealing with body image. It’s about a sense of the whole. ... Returning them to their new normal as soon as possible is important.”