Feeling much better with extra cash

Marie Harris gets a makeup boost from Look Good Feel Better chief executive Yvonne Brownlie. Photo / Richard Robinson

A touch of lipstick and a boost of confidence can make all the difference for women battling cancer.

Look Good Feel Better has a free makeup service to help women deal with the appearance-related changes that are a side- effect of cancer treatments.

Yvonne Brownlie has been with the charity for several years, first as a volunteer and now as chief executive.

Radio and chemotherapy cause changes to a person's appearance, she says.

"They can lose their hair, their eyebrows and eye lashes and have quite devastating marks on their faces from radiation treatment," said Ms Brownlie.

Some women going through cancer therapy even have trouble facing family and friends when they look sick.

"Obviously all these sorts of things really upset them - the whole idea of the organisation is to give a confidence boost."

The charity has nine tutors and more than 450 volunteers who run workshops in 23 centres around New Zealand teaching patients how to camouflage the scars and hair loss.

Each workshop involves 10 to 15 women of all ages, and works to transform not only their appearance but their outlook as well.

Also, everyone who attends gets a free makeup kit and is taught how to perform the new beauty treatment at home.

Look Good Feel Better started in the United States 20 years ago and spread around the world. It came to New Zealand 17 years ago, and since then has worked with more than 25,000 patients.

"This year we would see about 3000 women come through our programme and unfortunately the numbers are increasing," Ms Brownlie said.

The workshops made an amazing difference in women's lives.

"They come in in the morning for a workshop and it's quite sombre to start off with. About halfway through you can hear the noise and the changes in their attitude, and by the time they leave they are all going off to enjoy themselves."

Feedback from those attending is always positive. Mrs Brownlie has just received a letter that said simply, "Cinderella did go to the ball".

The airport's $10,000 will go towards putting more patients through the workshops in centres from Paihia to Greymouth.

"It's been a hard year for funding - a really, really hard year - and to receive something like this at the end of the year is just beyond belief."

KEEP THE CHANGE
* This Christmas, the New Zealand Herald is featuring 12 hard-working charities which have been selected for a $10,000 donation from Auckland International Airport.
* The winners were chosen by an independent group of advisers for the company, which collected the $120,000 from change left by travellers this year.