Dr. Marla visits Compassionate Beauty 2005
Beauty Blooms: Helping women adjust
to a new 'normal'
to a new 'normal'
Jennifer McDougall, Calgary Herald Neighbours
November 20, 2008
November 20, 2008
Patsy had a single mastectomy seven years ago. In preparation for anniversary cruise with her husband this year, she sought advice from staff at Compassionate Beauty.
They guided her in choosing a new bathing suit and a bra with a lace inset to make it look like a camisole.
"It beautifully covers up the cleavage that I no longer have. It works perfectly under my made-to-measure evening gown," she says.
Patsy also purchased a new prosthesis that can be worn with or without a bra. The protective backing, when removed, reveals a sticky side that attaches,to the place where her breast used to be.
Patsy took this breast form on her vacation and surprised her husband. While he has always been supportive and reassuring, he loves what it has done for Patsy's confidence.
"This little detail drastically improved the way I feel about myself in the bedroom," Patsy says.
"Our cruise was extra-special, because I could feel sexy again, like I had not felt in over seven years. The kind ladies at Compassionate Beauty really helped me adjust my 'new normal'. I wish it had been available earlier."
Re: "Beauty blooms: Helping women adjust to a new 'normal,' "
November 20, 2008
What you print does make a difference. We were honoured when the Herald Neighbours section published a lengthy article about our centre, Compassionate Beauty. You gave it amazing coverage and placement. My staff and I couldn't be prouder. Survivors have been calling for days, thrilled there is a centre designed to meet all their needs. We have had many new wig appointments and breast cancer survivors asking about our "stick-on breasts. "We are excited to know the article reached so many people who now have a place they can find shelter.
I want to share an incredible phone call I received after the article appeared. A woman asked if she could purchase a gift certificate. What she asked next was a question I will hold dear all my life. She said she knew no one going through cancer treatment to whom she could give the gift card. But, she had read the article and was touched how we are caring for women experiencing such a rough time. She asked if we could give the gift card to the next woman walking into the store. She talked about it being the perfect gift for Christmas.
Kindness is all around us. We have learned the one gift cancer survivors always talk about, is the unconditional kindness they find themselves surrounded with.
Saundra Shapiro,
Global TV
July 25, 2007
Breast cancer patients often say part of their recovery is striving to feel normal again -- that includes looking normal.
Alison Wattie was pleasantly surprised, when she had to shop for a breast form after a mastectomy last year...
Nadia Moharib, Calgary Sun
July 23, 2006
Ultimate Warriors. Stories of loss, pain ... courage and hope.
Nothing says you have cancer like the shaved head.
That's why it is such an emotional milestone for many women undergoing treatment, says Saundra Shapiro.
"It clearly says I have cancer. It's like this big defining moment," she says.
"Up until then, you can skirt it, you can deny it -- well, now it stares you in the face in the bathroom mirror."
Medical experts do what they do and Shapiro, owner of Compassionate Beauty at 22 Richard Way S.W., a spa and boutique that has everything from wigs to a private mastectomy room where women can be fitted with breast forms and special bras, tries to put the person back together, to get them in to a better head-space, so to speak.
Some bring their husband or their children for moral support.
Others make it ceremonial and some turn it into a party.
There is often champagne, laughter and tears as the hair falls to the floor.
Shapiro turns the client away from the mirror when the clippers come out, trying to make it all as painless as possible.
She does a buzz-cut, and often a scalp massage, before placing a wig on the woman's head and offering a tissue before turning them around to see the transformation.
"We know they have a nice good cry by themselves when they go home, but in this room, they get some dignity," she says.
"This is a safe haven." That's what Shapiro's business, catering to women being treated for or recovering from cancer, is all about.
It was inspired by Giah, a friend who was being treated for ovarian cancer, and that difficult day when Shapiro offered to shave her head.
It opened on the birthday of Shapiro's best friend, Louise, who died of cervical cancer in 2004 but long shared the dream for just such a special place.
Shapiro, who was herself diagnosed with a cancerous skin lesion on her face, said the idea is to offer pampering rather than pity. "It's like this whole new world no one should be in," she says of cancer.
After cancer tears their life apart and at times ravages their body, Shapiro starts her work.
"You put yourself back together," she says.
"If your family sees you with make-up and a smile, they have more hope and less fear ... at a restaurant, the waiter asks how you like your meat cooked, not what treatment you are on."
"It's so important not to scream 'I'm going through chemotherapy, I'm sick, I'm dying,' " she says.
"It's so important they end up looking beautiful, with breasts, without breasts, they should have lace, they should have sex." She says the quest is to try to find so-called normal for the women and often if "a person feels better on the outside, that gives them hope on the inside and helps their healing," she says.
"Not everyone dies anymore of cancer," Shapiro adds.
"It's like this year they have to heal themselves."
And as tough as it is, Shapiro loves her job. "My parents did not want me to do this at all and my mother would cry every time someone left, it would break her heart," she says. "Then she saw someone hug me and say 'thank you.' "
"It's not all sadness," she says. "I see people's smiles, their hair growing back and I see the ones who make it
As for the head shaving, it's something Shapiro offers for free. "How could I charge for it?" she asks.
"It's the most horrible thing. There is no way I can charge for it."
Canada AM, CTV
November 29, 2005
A special video segment covered by Dr. Marla on CTV's Canada Am. This video requires Adobe Flash Player, if you dont have it you can get it here.
Karen van Kampen, Calgary Herald
July 06, 2005
Compassionate Beauty is an oasis within the city. A chandelier casts a warm glow across women relaxing on a powder pink sofa.
Global Calgary
April 28, 2005
Battling cancer can rob a woman of her energy, her spirit and her sense of control. Medicine can treat her disease, but when a woman looks in the mirror, she may not even recognize herself.
Now, a new Calgary store is offering female cancer patients everything they might need or want to better help them deal with cancer...