When an Irish woman is diagnosed with cancer, treatment inevitably becomes a multi-pronged battle. Not only does she have to deal with the realities of treatment and overwhelming questions about what her future holds, but there’s also the emotional strain of losing her hair, energy, and even body parts.
Away from the hassle of appointments, the beeping and beeping of hospital machines, and the long hours of chemotherapy, there is a network of independent caregivers whose sole purpose is to restore women’s sense of self when illness threatens to tear them apart.
Michelle Waters, owner of Amare Wig Specialists (Instagram: @amare_wigs) often meets her clients at the beginning of their journey.
“When they start chemotherapy, they come to me for advice,” says the Kelly Pike native.
“We try on different pieces, get them as close in color as possible, choose one, and adjust the size. Then, when they start the treatment and their hair starts falling out, the hair piece is ready. I try to make it as easy as possible. A lot of people are very nervous at first, but there are people like me here.”
Michelle has always been involved in the hair industry and started working at a local salon when she was 13 years old. After three years, she left school and went straight to Peter Mark to train as a hairdresser. Her interest in wigs happened by chance.
“A few years ago, when my uncle was in Marymount Hospice and I visited him, I thought it would be great if I could volunteer to give the women there a blow-dry and hair-do.
“I was surprised that so many of them were wearing wigs, but I was kind of fascinated and decided to find out more.”
Michelle Waters, Amare Wig Specialist. Photo: Gel BonusAfter learning the industry for several years, Michelle struck out on her own and has been working for herself for 7 years. Even in that time, she says, wigs have improved immeasurably in both comfort and style.
“The structure and material of the cap is lighter and breathes much better. I prefer human hair. It’s more expensive, but it’s more versatile. So if I’m going to a wedding or a Christmas party, I get a lot of bookings for that now. I can do an updo on the hairpiece and make it look different for a special occasion. It’s like going to a hair salon, but private and just me and the client.”
“I end up getting really close to people. I love it when people hug me when they say goodbye and thank me for making them feel like themselves.”
As treatment progresses, it often becomes difficult to feel yourself. Acupuncturist Clodagh Reid treats many of the side effects associated with medications.
“We take care of people at every point of their treatment,” she says. “In the early stages of treatment, when there is a lot of stress and anxiety, and during treatment, when patients are feeling nausea and pain, we are targeting the fatigue and hot flashes associated with treatment in women with breast cancer and men with prostate cancer.
“It is very suitable after treatment of neuropathy with numbness in the legs or difficulty walking.
Ms Clodagh, from Ballincollig, Cork, trained as an acupuncturist in New York, where she lived for 20 years.
“I worked in the American clothing industry for many years, and it was stressing me out,” the 56-year-old recalls. “I used to go to acupuncture sessions for that purpose, but then I decided to give it all up and become an acupuncturist. I was 35 when I went back to study, and it worked out really well.”
Clodagh eventually opened her own clinic in New York, and while there, she began seeing cancer patients. She moved her home to Ireland eight years ago.
“Someone contacted me Cork ARC Cancer Care House I was asked if I was interested in starting an acupuncture program there. You have really grown. We have two acupuncturists coming in every three days and see about 25 to 30 patients each week. ”
As well as her work at Cork ARC, Clodagh personally sees cancer patients through her practice. She witnessed a slow change in attitudes towards acupuncture and its benefits.
Clodagh Read is a member of the Acupuncture Foundation Professional Association.“Consultants now mention it as an established practice,” she says. “We’re gaining buy-in. It took a while. People didn’t necessarily know what to refer people for. Like in other countries, acupuncture is becoming mainstream. Hospitals in the United States and Australia have acupuncture departments.”
She hopes it will eventually become the norm in Ireland as well.
According to the Irish Cancer Society, one in seven women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Some of them may need or choose to have a mastectomy.
Once the patient has healed and all surgeries have been completed, areola and/or nipple repair may be performed as a final step.
Aislinn Horgan is a medical tattoo specialist who provides trauma-informed, medically-driven restorative treatments. “My background was as a nurse,” she explains. “I worked in oncology and then moved to oncology for a pharmaceutical company.
“I always wanted to have my own business, but I had no idea what it was. As time went on, I started to see gaps in services, and the gap in medical tattooing became apparent as well.”
“Women were having surgeries and treatments, and then they were just going to have to live their lives. They had breast reconstructions, they may have had nipple reconstructions, but it was a tangible reminder of everything they had been through, the surgeries, the loss of some part of their femininity. It wasn’t seen as a necessary part of their care, and they felt like that had to change.”
After training in eyebrow pigmentation in Dublin, UK, Estonia and Slovakia, I opened Aislinn. Posted by Aislinn She initially focused on eyebrows, but additional years of training have allowed her to expand her offering. She currently has four clinics across the country.
“People often come with a lot of stuff,” she says. “So I’m there as a safe space for them in case they want to unload and talk.
“When it comes to the areola and nipple, we will discuss their size and shape during your initial consultation. If it’s only on one side, it’s important to match it as closely as possible to the other side,” she explains.
“Then I inject the pigment into the skin. Because I know how the skin responds to the treatment, I often pause the treatment and restart it for a second session.
Aislinn Horgan, medical tattoo specialist. Photo: Dan Linehan“Clients usually come back 10 weeks later to see how they’ve recovered from the first session and make everything better. The first session usually takes three hours. We take our time. We don’t want anyone to watch the clock or feel pressured. The second session lasts about an hour, but a lot of it is counseling and talking about aftercare.”
In addition to offering her expertise and skills, Aislinn advocates for women (and men) regarding this treatment and has successfully lobbied two insurance companies to cover this specialized treatment under certain insurance policies. Leah and Vhi are also on board, but of course there’s always the possibility of more.
“I want other people to get involved, and it’s nice to be recognized for that,” she says.
“It’s difficult. I sometimes cry with them because I meet people who are at a very vulnerable stage in their lives, but it’s not difficult at all. But it’s very rewarding and I love what I do.”
