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F o r r sjr - B - Official Media Sponsor Editor: Wilma Blokhuis Phone: 905-845-3824 (ext. 250) Fax: 905-337-5567 e-mail: blokhuis@haltonsearch.com Hats off to Look Good, Feel Better program Oakville resident gets new lease on life thanks to ongoing support By Mary Collett SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER "M y brother told me he saw all the shades of purple in my face," she recalls. "M y ears turned coal-black, and the soles of my feet felt like cardboard." Depressed by her deteriorating phys ical appearance. Carmichael reluctantly agreed to attend a cosmetic workshop run by the Look Good , Feel Better (L G F B ) program, held locally at the Wellspring Cancer Support Centre on Sixth Line. L G F B is sponsored by the Canadian Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association and staffed by trained vol unteer cosmeticians and wig specialists who arrive armed with mirrors, wigs, turbans and complimentary cosmetic kits. For Carmichael and many of the other participants the program is largely about taking control of their cancer as well as the residual effects of treatment. " It isn't about vanity," says Carmichael, " but when you look at yourself in the mirror and you see the disasters the cancer has worked upon your body, then go through a program like L G F B , looking better causes you to feel better about yourself. It gives you back your confidence and self esteem, but it also gives you a feeling of control, which, for me. increased my energy level and sense of optimism." armichael feels so strongly about the benefits of the program that she recently participated in a photo shoot for an upcoming edition of the L G F B magazine. " I now have a new appreciation for people who go into modelling," she says with a laugh. " It was hard work even though I love a camera." But the LG FB program has also given her a new lease on life. " This program is so special," says Carmichael. " You don't realize how much your hair and skin are a part of you until you lose them. My world crashed when my hair started falling out in clumps, but I began to realize that I was accepting the cancer instead of trying to fight it. Now I can look back on it and laugh." Carmichael believes that laughter sends out a message of hope and credits the L G FB program for improving both her inner and outer selves. "A t one point, I looked so well, I asked myself 'Do I really have cancer?'" she recalls. Though childless, Carmichael is proud to be the eldest of 52 first cousins and aunt to " three beautiful nieces and two very special nephews." he chooses to regard her cancer as "a wake-up call" that has given her a new opportunity to re-evaluate her life and her sense of self. " I never realized I had so many friends and so many people who cared for me." she muses. "M y motto right now is, `Life is wonderful.' "One day I was really feeling uptight because 1was being pressured to make a decision, and my doctor said to me, `Elizabeth, never allow anyone to write the next chapter of your life for you," ' said Carmichael. "That's a very strong phrase. So often you're pushed into something before you're ready and often I 've allowed it and later regretted it." Mary Davis has been a volunteer cos metician with the LG FB program for the last 10 years and was instrumental in arranging Carmichael's modeling ses sion. Though she was unable to accompany Carmichael on the photo shoot, she knew from her first meeting with her last year at Wellspring that she would be perfect for the magazine. " Elizabeth has those important leader ship qualities and a great sense of humour," she notes. Davis, a professionally-trained cos metician and teacher was an ATHENA Award nominee last year. She passionate ly believes in " giving something back." saying "I feel empowered by the stories that I hear from these women, and just fortunate to be involved." Davis is painfully aware that some of the women she has helped over the years to look good and feel belter, have not sur vived their battles with cancer, which is why she views her time with them as so precious. " Life is a gift," she concludes simply. For more information on the local L G F B program, call Wellspring at 905257-1988. LG F B at 1-800-914-5665. or visit its Web site at www.lgfb.ca. S akville resident Elizabeth Carmichael may have lost her hair as well as all her finger and toe nails to cancer treatments, but she has retained an abundant zest for life, a bottom less sense of humour, and a seem ingly indomitable spirit. O The disease has marred her rich cocoa-coloured skin in places, yet still her eyes sparkle, her smile dazzles and her laughter is infectious. Last year. Carmichael, who is founder of the North Halton Cultural Awareness Council, was diagnosed with Mycosis Fungoides, a rare form of blood cancer. But she refuses to suc cumb to self-pity, exuding only a steelwilled determination to live life to the fullest. `This may sound crazy," she admits with a laugh, "but the period since I've been diagnosed has been the best time of my life. A friend even told me that I've blossomed through cancer." Fiercely independent and generous by nature, one of Carmichael's most difficult lessons was learning how to accept help from others. " 1always knew that I was strong for other people, but now I 'm becoming strong for Elizabeth." she relates. "I had to take a step back, and I've finally learned the big word `No,' for me, the most difficult word in the English lan guage." Bom in Trinidad, Carmichael was raised in Venezuela and has lived in Oakville for the past 14 years. She has lost both her mother and her husband to cancer, and though, at times, she has felt both lonely and afraid, she relies upon holistic medicine, therapeutic massage. C Peter C.McCusker · Oakville Beaver Oakville resident Elizabeth Carm ichael is all smiles for the photographer thanks to assistance from the Look Good, Feel Better program held locally at the Wellspring Cancer Support Centre. her strong sense of spirituality, and methods of meditation to achieve peace, calm and serenity. Despite 40 bouts of radiation treat ments, she has received no prognosis and is now undergoing puva bath ses sions to be followed by more radiation in the months to come. The frequent exposure to radiation caused her skin to bum and flake off in pieces and also wreaked havoc with her pigmentation. 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