4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So Much to Love!, October 7, 2009
This review is from: Beauty Pearls for Chemo Girls (Paperback)
Many of our bodies just can't stand up to the environmental toxins, chemical additives, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides and genetic modifications in the food and water supply these days. So lots and lots of us are getting cancer, which is good for Big Pharma profits but very bad for us! As the American Health Care landscape changes, alternative solutions, including Insulin Potentiation Therapy, which utilizes 1/10 the amount of chemo medicine much more effectively, will hopefully be encouraged and covered by insurance, but for now, we are stuck with the status quo solutions that mainstream Doctors endorse and our insurance will cover, which usually means chemotherapy in large doses. Hopefully we will look back, 10 years from now, and realize how barbaric chemotherapy really is, at least the way it is administered today, but it's what we've got to deal with, and our positive attitude toward our own healing protocol is key.
"Beauty Pearls for Chemo Girls" is a precious gift of the heart to women everywhere. Authors Marybeth Maida and Debbie Kiederer have rallied together a powerful group consciousness for us to plug into, with a network of support from celebrities, beauty, fashion, health, psychological and spiritual experts as well as other women facing this extreme challenge, and those who have emerged triumphant and whole from the ordeal. Imparting pearls of wisdom is what this book is all about, and it addresses this journey of healing in such a comprehensive way, that pretty much every aspect of what we could possibly face is covered with excellent recommendations.
I recently gave a speech on alternative cancer cures at a University and when I asked these young people how many of them knew someone who had been affected by cancer, every hand went up. If we have not personally been affected, we know someone who has and we can be of great help to them by gifting them this book, imparting our own pearls of wisdom as gleaned from this book, or at least applying this knowledge to know how to be of the greatest assistance to them.
Betsey Johnson is my favorite Designer and her first hand experience with cancer allowed her to write the perfect forward to the book; "It's so obvious to me that the way a woman looks while she's going through chemo is going to affect the way she feels...commit to giving yourself all the comfort and kindness you can manage." I'm wearing a Betsey Johnson dress at this very moment and have dozens more in my closet, so her name alone would have drawn me to this book, but then what a wealth of treasure I discovered there!
From Betsey, we launch into a journey, with our first consideration being the "Mane Event", where we learn about hair loss, hair restoration, the choosing of wigs and other ways of covering our heads if we so choose to. Personally, the monk`s cleanly shaved head has always appealed to me with bright colored hats when it is cold, but everyone is different. We then visit the world of skin care and makeup, then on to fashion. We learn expert techniques of taking care of our bodies, covering every possible physical issue in light of chemo`s side effects. We learn how to effectively assemble our health care team and set up our daily routine for optimal health, which includes our diet, massage and other therapies and solutions for issues of hormonal balance, which is so important because so many women are plunged into menopause abruptly during this process.
My favorite chapter is entitled, The Integrative Approach, which addresses alternative and integrative medicine questions. I found this chapter to be conservatively aligned in conjunction with standard medicine, but this is the reality of the route most will choose. Having enough guts and money to follow a purely alternative path is a huge challenge in itself, that few are well equipped enough to follow through with and survive. In the final chapter, we are encouraged to embrace our own spirituality at this very spiritual time where many important resolutions and transformations occur. This may also necessitate the contemplation of our own final transition (at least this time around). Some spiritual seers have pointed out that we are all in the process of dieing, either now or later and that using death as an Advisor is a spiritually healthy practice for anyone. Those of us who are said goodbye to are also well served by these particular pearls of wisdom.
I especially appreciated being able to understand how to help a person facing this challenge. Since I read this book, a dear friend of mine, who lives close by, found herself in the position of needing this kind of support, and I was able to sincerely offer it in a very constructive way; "Assign me a job, and I really mean it!" All our mutual friends did the same thing and her burdens from everyday responsibilities have been lightened, she is well accompanied to her treatments and attended afterwards, her house is clean, groceries in the fridge and healthy food is prepared for her when she needs it most, allowing her to focus more on getting well. It has been fun and rewarding for us too and it was this book that helped us understand how best to do that. Thanks Debbie and my dearest Marybeth!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I wish I'd had this book when I was sick!!!, August 25, 2009
This review is from: Beauty Pearls for Chemo Girls (Paperback)
ohmygosh, this book is AMAZING! Having gone through cancer myself, I picked this book up and could not believe all the authors have covered: hair, skin, fashion, dealing with doctors, taking care of yourself, your family, your mind, your soul; even the embarrassing girl things like infections and not feeling desirable are all dealt with very sensitively and without any sort of cuteness. They lay out what might happen and then tell you how to deal with it and I for one am very grateful to have this to give to my friend now that she's facing the cancer battle. What a great resource! If you're sick, buy it and if you know someone who is, get it for her -- BEAUTY PEARLS IS DA BOMB!!!
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