Look Good...Feel Better | Press

New Survey Reveals Women Undergoing Cancer Therapy Treated Differently by Co-Workers

Free Program Offers Help to Women Coping with Appearance Side-Effects of Cancer Treatment
National Cancer Survivorsâ Day^® is Sunday, June 4

WASHINGTON, DC ö June 1, 2006 ö Women undergoing treatment for cancer say they are being treated differently because of their appearance, according to a new survey released today by Look Good·Feel Better¨. The survey, which is being released in conjunction with National Cancer Survivors Day¨ on June 4, reveals that a large majority of women with cancer say they are self conscious about their appearance during treatment, and 57 percent of women surveyed say their appearance affects the way co-workers treat them. The survey was conducted by the Cincinnati-based research firm R.L. Repass & Partners, Inc.i among an on-line panel of 400 female cancer survivors April 11 ö 17, 2006.

An estimated 697,510 women will be diagnosed with cancer in 2006, according to the American Cancer Society (Cancer Facts & Figures 2006). Of these women, many are likely to have treatments that affect their appearance, but there is help available to combat the problem through Look Good·Feel Better. A free, nationwide cancer support program, Look Good· Feel Better teams volunteer beauty professionals with small groups of cancer patients to show them how to use cosmetics, wigs and head coverings to camouflage the appearance effects of cancer treatment including hair loss, skin discoloration and extreme dryness.

KEY SURVEY FINDINGS:

Majority of women surveyed (69%) said their appearance changed somewhat (37%) or a lot (32%) during chemotherapy or radiation
Majority of women surveyed (83%) indicated they were somewhat self conscious (33%) or very self conscious (50%) of their appearance during treatment.
Nearly half of women surveyed (47%) said that the change in their appearance during treatment resulted in friends treating them somewhat differently (28%) or differently (19%)
Less than half of women surveyed had sought help to cope with appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment

“These findings are significant,” says Louanne Roark, Vice President, Personal Care Products Council Foundation and Look Good·Feel Better spokesperson. “When a woman is diagnosed with cancer, her health is foremost on her mind. Our survey indicates that her appearance is significant, too, because it affects her overall well being and quality of life. For a cancer survivor, quality of life during and after treatment is important to recovery.”

Look Good· Feel Better was founded and developed in 1989 by the Personal Care Products Council Foundation, supported by the cosmetic industry, and is offered in collaboration with the American Cancer Society and the National Cosmetology Association. The program is available nationwide and serves 50,000 women each year. More than 500,000 women have participated since the program began.

For more information or for women who would like to participate in a Look Good...Feel Better program, visit the Look Good...Feel Better Web site at www.lookgoodfeelbetter.org, call 800-395-LOOK, or contact the local American Cancer Society.

Study conducted by R.L. Repass & Partners, Inc. via 404 online interviews carried out between April 11 ö 17, 2006. Study participants were recruited via the Mindfieldú Online Panel; respondents qualified for participation if they were female and had chemotherapy or radiation therapy for cancer treatment within the past five years. Based on 404 completed interviews, the overall margin of error for this study is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence interval.

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