Selfcare Workshops for Young People with Cancer

Thanks to the donations from our Global Giving Donors we were able to provide a Beauty Day for eight of the young women we support in May 2017.  The day, held in the luxurious rooms at the COMO Hotel in Mayfair London, started with massages and relaxation for the young people before the wonderful make-up artists from Look Good Feel Better (LGFB), who are experts in dealing with some of the skin care issues that can result from cancer and its treatment.

Finding out you have cancer can be daunting and life-changing, and the added stress of the appearance-related side effects of treatment which can be demoralising and very hard to cope with, especially for young women and teenagers.  This can have serious consequences on self-esteem and confidence at a time when a positive attitude is very important.

The professional make-ups artists showed the young women how to draw on lost brows, highlight their eyes and improve skin tone, as well as helping them know which products will work well for their skin, and which to avoid.

"I never really come on things like this and shy away at home, but I was pleased that I took the courage to say yes.  It has boosted my confidence and I has a great day which has now made me realise that maybe I should take up more things, just to try.  Everyone was so lovely; i got lots of phone numbers and names for Facebook, which is great as I now have more people to talk to." Anon.

"I feel supported and have a growing friendship group because of Teens Unite"

Thanks to the kind and generous funding from Global Giving donors Teens Unite were able to provide another Beauty Day in February 2017.  Twelve of the young women we support came together to be pampered head to toe and receive advice and assistance from professional make-up artists who are experts in dealing with some of the skin care issues that can result from cancer and it's treatment.

These days are not just an opportunity for the young people to experience a spa-like day, with no need to feel self-conscious or insecure, but also an opportunity to meet others of a similar age and with similar experiences, to enable them to build their own peer support networks and see that they are not alone in their battle.

They young women that attended reported feeling more positive about their body image and more confident in making friends.  We also received some wonderful feedback from some of the volunteers who assisted on the day, on the transformation of the young ladies as their confidence grew throughout the day.

"Great day seeing a transformation of the the ladies throughout the day."

"I most enjoyed seeing the confidence that grew in the ladies throughout the session."

With further funding from GlobalGiving donors we hope to be able to provide more young people with cancer with this experience.  To help them see there is a life beyond cancer and to enable them to build new friendship groups who understand what they are going through.

'Uniting young people and rebuilding lives from diagnosis, through treatment and beyond.  Cancer doesn't stop when the treatment stops.'