March 2009 Archives

ACS's program, Look Good...Feel Better, helps women undergoing cancer treatment to do just that, look GOOD and feel BETTER!

Dealing with cancer treatment is tough stuff. But with the help of Look Good...Feel Better, you can be confident about your appearance, despite treatment-related side effects.

"They get the chance to feel pretty again and meet other women that they can immediately bond with," says Linda Spence, a  facilitator of some of the sessions in Southwest Missouri.

At a Look Good...Feel Better session, you learn how to keep makeup sterile and deal with dry skin, skin discoloration and hair loss. Plus you get a whole kit filled with free products!

The main focus of the sessions is on the physical, but it's more than that too.

"Look Good...Feel Better helps you get in touch with other people that are going through the same thing," said Deanna Lane, a participant of a Look Good...Feel Better session. Women not only learn from the leader, but also from each other.

If you want to attend a session visit www.lookgoodfeelbetter.org or call your American Cancer Society at 1-800-ACS-2345.

You're reading this blog: that's wonderful! We are so happy that you care about the fight against cancer! But maybe you're looking for more? Well you're in luck because we happen to have a couple of other ways to make sure you're in the loop.

Twitter: We are continuously updating our ACSspringfield Twitter, one of the hottest sites online. Twitter is a social networking website that allows users to send short bursts of information. Users create an account and become a 'follower' of ACSspringfield. Followers get updates directly from us about cancer news, programs for patients and information on area fundraisers. Users can see the notifications by either logging onto Twitter or connecting their personal Twitter account to a cell phone which will send automatic updates as text messages. Look now here.

Facebook: If you're one of the hundreds of people involved with Springfield's Relay For Life, then log on and become a fan of our page! That way you can chat with other local Relayers, get information, tips and look at pictures! Unfortunately, we don't have a general Southwest Missouri page, but you can become a fan of the American Cancer Society. For the Springfield Relay page go here. For the American Cancer Society go here.

Cancer.org: This is THE website for cancer information. You've got a question? They have an answer! From cancer.org you can learn about any type of cancer, donate to ACS, find local help, learn about the latest cancer news, hear stories of hope and get linked up to anything and everything else. Check it out now at: www.cancer.org.

And, of course, you can talk to real, live people anytime at 1-800-ACS-2345.

American Cancer Society's Chief Medical Officer, Ottis Brawley MD, gives his word on colon cancer:

 We have the opportunity to save lives from colon cancer by getting screened ourselves and encouraging our loved ones to get screened as well. And, what better time to start than during March - National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month? Colon cancer testing helps us stay well by preventing cancer from occurring when we find polyps and have them removed. And it helps us get well if the cancer is found early. Although it is the third most common cause of cancer death in both men and women in America, it is preventable, treatable, and beatable. Ultimately, with more screening, we'll be able to celebrate more birthdays with our family and friends.