One of the most difficult aspects of living with any illness, whether as a survivor or as someone who loves a survivor, is the way which illness can divide us. Suddenly, there are those of us who are ill and those of us who are not. Overnight, this line of distinction can seem very sharply drawn. And in addition, if we become ill, we also feel separated from the familiar, including the comfortingly familiar presence of our own appearance. We look into the mirror and see a stranger.

            A woman who has battled breast cancer into remission often feels isolated from her loved ones because of the way she looks in the aftermath. Her body, hair and skin, speak silently of her battle. I have worked as a professional skin therapist for my entire career—30 years—and have learned to read the language of skin, mostly through my own skin, moving my fingertips on the client’s face and body in the form of a professional treatment. Please consider:

 

• If you are undergoing or have undergone chemotherapy, your skin will probably feel dry, even to the point of itching furiously. Remember that your skin is a protective barrier which shields you from infection. Take extra care with your skin now, especially if your white-cell count is lowered as a result of your treatment. Avoid getting cuts, abrasions, even bug-bites. Nourish it with emollient-rich body lotion, and look for soothing ingredients like Evening Primrose Oil, Vitamin E and Panthenol.

 

• Especially if your procedure has included underarm lymph node removal,  I advise against aggressive nail treatments, such as acrylic nails, for the same reason. Many women find that this helps to reduce swelling (lymphedema).

 

• Don’t wash with soap—especially perfumey ones which contain synthetic fragrances. These will exacerbate dryness and itching. Look for a liquid body wash with lower levels of surfactants. The product won’t foam as much as some, but your skin will feel less dry.

 

• Ditto for products containing S.D. alcohol.

 

• Use a creamy, milky cleanser  that calms and soothes and a nourishing, repairing, heavier-weight moisturizer which does not contain artificial fragrances or colors.

 

• If you are taking the drug Fluorouacil (5FU), your skin will tan much more readily in the sun—so take extra solar defense precautions. And, if you are receiving radiation therapy, the area exposed to the radiation field, such as the upper chest, also needs rigorous protection from UV rays.

 

 

Dr. Nina G. Jablonski of the anthropology department of Pennsylvania State University has written a fascinating book, “Skin: A Natural History”, about how our humanity itself is, to quote her directly, “imbued in our skin.” Jablonski describes her own skin as her “unwritten biography”, and with this in mind, I urge you to embrace changes in your skin with compassion. Your skin tells the story of your journey. While the skin may carry a scar, it also is resilient, and is a metaphor for what truly makes us human.