a light massage of the neck and shoulders for comfort- make sure to ascertain whether or not your client has a chemotherapy port, to ensure you stay away from that area. We need to restore the barrier function of the skin / promoting the growth of new healthy skin cells. Cancer treatments do not just kill bad cells but also kills healthy cells. Make sure to do your homework as an Esthetician and explore the many different skincare lines that are made exclusively for cancer patients and are oncology-approved and incorporate one of them in your facials. It is most important to have ingredients approved for post-cancer patients or sensitized skin. This could be a very emotional experience for a new or returning client. Be sure to schedule some extra time to talk to them on their first visit or first visit back. Taking time to ask questions and get some background of their battle- not to diagnose them, but to give them comfort and to determine which treatments they had, so that you can be the most helpful. When one person is diagnosed with cancer it affects so many parts of their life, and you have the power to make just one of those parts better through your knowledge, understanding, and compassion for the client. Throughout this course, it has been clear how important it is to find other ways to comfort our clients during active treatments. Though we can never truly understand any one person’s cancer battle completely, it is my hope for every esthetician to have a more realistic understanding of what a client goes through on a day- to- day basis during treatment. A lot of that time is about being physically sick or dealing with side effects from chemotherapy or radiation, but it is so much more than that. It is both an emotional and physical rollercoaster that makes the former self is unrecognizable. Personally, my battle with cancer taught me humility and to never judge another person simply by the outside. No one is ready to receive a diagnosis of cancer. We can never predict how we will react to that kind of news until we hear it ourselves. As beauty professionals, we can be as supportive as possible by knowing the basic fundamentals of cancer and its various treatments. Always remember: Be Kind!
their name. It is important to find out if they have any new restrictions or a port because of their diagnosis. If they still have a port, it will be visible on the chest and you will just stay away from that area during the massage. Did the client have lymph nodes removed? Special massage modifications should be made. Finally, your client returns but you should be aware that their immune system is still impaired and be sure to be following your universal precautions and steps (Wikipedia, 2020): ● Always make sure your client completes and signs a new updated consultation form. ● An in-depth skin analysis. ● Always keep your treatment room sanitary. ● No waxing until cleared by their oncologist and consider sugaring as it is a more natural alternative. ● Check your esthetician's insurance and be sure to have the proper coverage needed to ensure you and your client’s safety. Your client’s main complaint’s after treatment about their skin will likely be that it is dry and more sensitive and filled with hyperpigmentation. It also may be losing a lot of its elasticity (a common side-effect on the skin from chemotherapy). Most of these things can be easily remedied by coming back for regular facials. It is important to keep rejuvenating new skin cells by doing light exfoliating and hydrating treatments with all-natural ingredients. An easy facial protocol for your returning or new post-cancer treatment client will include an in-depth consultation to ascertain which treatments were done and which side effects the patient is experiencing. A skin analysis will be helpful in determining exactly what your clients needs. When it comes time to exfoliate, either skip it or use an all-natural light enzyme (determine any allergies during the consultation). Include a warm towel for comfort. If doing extractions, only use light pressure, as your post- cancer treatment client will likely have very sensitive skin. .Similarly, use only light pressure during the massage. Consider adding an antioxidant serum with vitamins A, C, and E. Green tea or grapeseed oil are great options as well. This will help fight free radicals and help calm cellular inflammation. Use a hydrating or antioxidant mask, with ingredients that will help nourish the skin. I also suggest Conclusion It is impossible to know everything about cancer in one short course. Cancer is an extremely complex disease and new studies are being done daily. After completing my own cancer treatments and only encountering dry medical courses about beauty treatments and cancer, I wanted to design a course for estheticians that would give them the fundamentals of cancer and cancer treatments in an easy and accessible way. Helping your clients with cancer requires thinking outside of the box, as traditional skincare treatments may not be a possibility for those with compromised immune systems or radiation-damaged skin. Developing an understanding of what cancer patients face will help the estethican provide compassionate care to their clients facing this complicated, frightening, and difficult disease.
WORKS CITED https://qr2.mobi/intro-oncology
EliteLearning.com/Cosmetology
Book Code: ENC0826
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