NATIONAL WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH |CELEBRATING ORDINARY WOMEN
Why I’ll Never Complain in the Salon Chair Again 2.0
A beautician who doubles as a superhero
Over two years ago, I shared my beautician’s beginning journey with breast cancer. More than a few gracious readers have asked how she’s doing now.
I’m happy to report she’s back to her normal self — not without occasional pain, neuropathy in her feet, numbness in her hands, days when she has excruciating leg pain — feels like tree trunks to lift and extreme fatigue from the medication she has to take for five years.
Late spring of last year, she had a voluntary double mastectomy. Her doctor advised she only needed one breast removed. She decided it was her body, and she didn’t want to revisit the horror of being in remission with the possibility of the cancer’s return.
Aside from that, she had breast replacement and a tummy tuck at the same time. She refuses to take the prescribed oxycodone or any other pain medication, opting for CBD and manning the pain through sheer willpower. Six weeks later, she was planning her daughter’s Quinceañera — over 100 guests.
No one knows how she does it — we’re all mystified by her resilience.
That was a year ago. Since then she has helped clients flip and or redesign three houses, traveled to the East coast for the merchandise she sells in her shop, took her beautiful daughter on an HBCU college tour and never stops moving.
She totaled her Porsche a week before her second implant surgery — popped both implants. Her surgery rescheduled on my birthday back in May — I felt honored by the universe to uphold her with my best prayerful energy on the day of my birth.
Every time I see her, she has a smile on her face — cracking jokes with the same infectious energy level she’s had since the day I met her over 20 years ago. I realize this is a lot to take in in one setting, but I am astounded by this woman’s courage.
If I could bottle her energy, spirit, and positive attitude toward living as an elixir, I’d give it to anyone struggling with a challenging illness. She is the poster child for how to maintain a sunny outlook through the darkest of clouds.
I believe we have innate healing power if we use it the right way by focusing on wellness in place of sickness. Not to sound minimizing of anyone’s health challenge — I realize it’s a personal journey.
In the natural health field, it’s often said, “we can live with illness but not with the diagnosis.”
Last week I had an in-depth conversation with my beautician because of my cousin, diagnosed with breast cancer a few months ago. I wanted to glean any insight she had that might impart a small glimmer of hope and wisdom since she had gone through the wringer — at least from an outsider looking in.
She shared a portion of her journey I wasn’t aware of until now. Her initial mammograms showed what the doctor termed dense breasts. They told her multiple times after her exams there was nothing there and she had nothing to worry about.
One female doctor convinced the others they should look further, as she was uncomfortable with something only she detected. When they did, they found she was in stage two. They also told her it was likely she had been living with breast cancer for at least five years.
I find this disconcerting, but she lives a healthy lifestyle — exercises daily, doesn’t smoke or drink, nor does she eat meat.
When I relayed my cousin’s experience of seeking several opinions with only two doctors in agreement that she was in stage one instead of two — she said, “doctors are just people too and make mistakes.”
I agreed. She further explained, a cancer organization advised her to request genetic testing to predict the recurrence rate since she had two aunts who succumbed to the same form of cancer. Her team of doctors rejected the idea for no good reason until she adamantly insisted.
A heated debate ensued — they argued in her presence over whether her case warranted the genetic test for her condition. The hospital would get paid either way by her insurance.
We both agreed this reeked of some awful form of discrimination toward women and people of color. I’ve read several articles on the topic, never imagining I would experience or hear it first person.
This is the reason we should question everything.
Doctors are human — they have biases like everyone else. My friend is in remission and from all appearances, she is doing as well as expected under the circumstances.
My cousin has opted for Cryoablation. She was approved since her mass has stopped growing and is only 1.7 cm. Her doctor told her the procedure is only done if a tumor is under 2.5 cm. It takes 30 minutes and is noninvasive.
The procedure uses extreme cold to freeze and kill abnormal cancerous and precancerous cells. The application of cold to tumor cells prevents further growth or spreading, making this an effective outpatient treatment for cancer.
We should not only celebrate the women making a national or global splash or change in their respective careers through activism, but also give props to those women warriors fighting their own day-to-day personal battles.
They’re as much an inspiration as anyone.
Happy National Women’s History Month. This is my tribute to ordinary women who inspire us in our daily lives through their courage, strength, positivity, and resilience.
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