Paint Me Pretty - Guest Post about Women, Cancer, and Beauty by Jackie Clark

When you are diagnosed with cancer, it is easy to feel unattractive. Somehow you may feel as if you have stopped being a woman and have instead become a "patient." You are still a beautiful woman, even if you have been diagnosed with a cancer such as mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure. Don't let cancer, a prognosis, or treatments take away your self-esteem. Going to the salon to get a manicure is one way to remind yourself and the world that cancer doesn't define you.


Manicures are an inexpensive salon treatment in which the nail technician carefully trims your cuticles and shapes your nails. She then buffs them to smooth out any ridges or discolorations, and then she will paint your nails with your preferred color. Choose a solid color, French tips, or even go for a pattern. The nail technician can paint anything from delicate flowers to a fierce cheetah print on your nails. Best of all, unlike a home manicure, the paint or design that the nail tech applies will stay on under most circumstances for at least two weeks.

This treatment will only take half an hour of your time, but it can make all the difference in the world about how pretty and feminine you feel. Even if you are undergoing chemotherapy and you have lost your lustrous locks of hair, painted nails reminds the world that you are feminine and that the cancer is a temporary setback.

Getting a manicure is about more than the appearance of your nails, however. Part of the reason why a manicure is so therapeutic to women suffering from cancer is because it is a way to pamper yourself when you are feeling at your worst. You have probably taken plenty of time out of your schedule to go to doctor's appointments and chemotherapy treatments, but you probably are not doing anything just for yourself. Going to the salon will be a welcome change of scenery from the neutral walls of the doctor's office or hospital.

Next time you are feeling low, don't give in to the depression. Get dressed, put on some makeup and go to the nail salon. Thirty minutes is all you need to change your outlook. This cancer is a setback, it is not who you are as a person. For the next two weeks, whenever you are feeling like the cancer has taken over your life, you can look down at your beautifully polished nails and remember that your life is about more than illness. You are still a sexy, glamorous woman inside and out.

- Jackie Clark, Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance