Customer Reviews

Beauty Pearls for Chemo Girls

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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!

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!!!

This book is a perfect example of one woman taking her own cancer experience and turning it into something incredibly positive for those who have or will soon walk in those same "cancer" shoes. I would imagine that everyone can close their eyes and think of at least one person going through cancer treatment or one person whose life has been touched by someone fighting the good fight. What a perfect gift to give them! This book is encouraging, inspirational and fool of great information for women who embark on this journey. It lets "Chemo Girls' know: "You are not alone!" I recommend this book for anyone and everyone who has been touched by cancer. Thank you to the authors for pouring their heart and soul into the pages!

When my sister first was diagnosed with cancer, I bought her a book beacuse I felt so helpless, but the book didn't address any of her real concerns. How I wish this book was in print at that time!
Beauty Pearls for Chemo Girls is a very practical and helpful guide to almost anything a woman has a difficult time with during chemo: how to pick out the best wig, how to tastefully hide the fact that your eyebrows and eyelashes are gone, foods that might sit better in your stomach during chemo...THIS book has it all. There's even a section that deals with spirituality. I LOVE that the author discusses her own experiences, but the book's focus isn't on herself. The focus is on all of the FANTASTIC, famous contributors in every field and their expert advice: Oribe, Oscar Blandi, etc..., all providing very useful and practical information. I LOVED this book and believe it will truly assist many women out there going through one of the worst times in their lives! Kudos to the authors for doing such a splendid job!

I had two friends going through chemo and I bought the books for them. It helped them so much and answered so many questions they had. They saw they weren't going through this alone. They really appreciated having the books.

very insightful, easy to read and to very clear to add fun stuff to those going through chemo. I would recommend it highly...

This book is straight to the point from survivors that are in the beauty consulting (in some way) world. I love the different view points. The only negative I had is that they absolutely assume you will wear a wig and talk about that at great length. I'm a breast cancer survivor NOT wearing a wig. Scarfs, hats, and sometimes just bald are my choice of covering.

Good tips for makeup, breakouts and what to do when your hair starts growing in. I have referred it to several people.

An excellent book for anyone who has breast cancer. It should be read as soon as they are diagnosed. It should also be read by relatives and close friends. Very informative and easy to read. Has a great deal of useful information.

I had high hopes for this book when I read about in my local paper. After reading it I found it weakly edited and a poorly disguised infomercial for the various websites of the experts and of course that of the [...]. There is no problem for being paid for producing something of value, but that is not the case here. The book has been released suspiciously close to October and Breast Cancer Awareness month. The experts contradict each other on the same page and some of the advice provided can be counterproductive. The book is neither a single resource for options nor does it provide new information. If you are patient, work with your doctor and get the information on what is happening to your body from him/her. Only the doctors know the combination of drugs you are receiving, the cumulative side affects and the best mitigation techniques. The resources (many free) that are noted in the book are available through your medical team and participating hospital. Libraries, web searches for cancer support and hotlines can provide even more information about local organizations. If you are trying to support a patient visit her, go with her to chemo, cook a meal for her family, if there are kids-take them out for awhile, or advocate for her with her doctor.

1. Under no circumstances should you follow the advice in this book over the advice of your doctor.