DAYTON, Ohio — Going through cancer treatment can often be a long and difficult process, which is why the Kettering Health Cancer Center is making sure to help women still feel beautiful through the process with their new beauty class, Courageous Beauty.
What You Need To Know
- Courageous Beauty is put on my Renew Boutique and Spa
- The class focuses on makeup techniques and tips for those battling cancer
- Connie Miles, a breast cancer patient, said the class allows her and others fighting cancer to be able to control some of their appearance
- The class is offered every third Monday of the month at Kettering Health Cancer Center
Connie Miles has always loved makeup.
“I’ve always worn makeup,” Miles said. “I’ve always enjoyed it. But this class was amazing because it did what it was supposed to do for us. It made us feel beautiful and it made us feel like we were in control of that beauty.”
That class is Courageous Beauty, a course for women battling cancer at Kettering Health. Miles was diagnosed with breast cancer and just started treatment last month.
“I lost my first big clumps of hair, and it’s devastating,” she said. “We identify ourselves so much by our hair that it’s good to know that you’re not alone in this journey.”
But Miles still wanted to feel beautiful, which is what Courageous Beauty hopes to accomplish. The class was created by Jaime Testa and others at Renew Boutique and Spa.
“A common question that kept coming up is well what do I do about my makeup, my eyebrows, my eyelashes as they start to release and come out?” Testa said. “We decided to take what we do best, which is caring for our patients, and turn it into an educational course.”
So each class is just that: Learning new makeup techniques and products for women like Miles who is undergoing a lot of changes.
“Your body is going through all these different changes and I think your femininity is challenged,” Miles said.
The class not only serves as a way to learn new ways to apply makeup, but also to be connected to other women who are going through similar challenges.
“When I lost that hair, I thought about those women in my class,” Miles said. “It was quite emotional, and it is something that you can’t control. So putting your makeup on every morning for when you feel like you want to be around others. It’s going to make you feel beautiful, and that’s what you need to remember. That no matter what, we’re beautiful within.”
Miles said it’s been a blessing and a way to show others her strength and beauty inside and out.
The class is offered on the third Monday of every month at Kettering Health. To join, contact the Cancer Center.
