Last year, Jenn Reasinger was self-conscious about her hair. She lost it during chemotherapy treatments aimed at eradicating her breast cancer; it had started to grow back, but very slowly.
“I felt like a Chia Pet … just having this like poof of hair on top of my head,” Reasinger said during a phone interview , letting out a tired sigh. “You know, you’re so excited to finally start getting your hair to grow back.
“But then, when I would go out in public, I felt embarrassed, just second-guessing how I looked, [thinking] people thought I was weird because my hair looked so weird, and it wasn’t like an actual hairstyle; it was just like this poof of curls,” she said. “I felt so uncomfortable.”
Reasinger, 41, of Coopersburg, was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2021 after getting her first mammogram in November 2020. She struggled during treatment, not only with physical changes, but “emotionally, mentally, spiritually — just everything was just really hitting me,” she said.
But then, in a rare moment of serendipity as she was scrolling through social media, Reasinger saw a post about a summit hosted by the Cancer Support Community of the Greater Lehigh Valley. It was a virtual event, so she could participate from the comfort of her home.
“The first session, I think I was in tears,” Reasinger said. “I just felt the support. I just felt validated in what I was going through, that I wasn’t the only one going through all the emotions and everything that I was going through, and it was just a really nice time to get to hear about different topics.”
Last month, the Cancer Support Community of the Greater Lehigh Valley launched an image recovery program to help patients across the region improve their body image and sense of self during and after cancer treatment. Sponsored by the nonprofit Ryan Family Foundation, the free program, offered virtually on a bi-monthly basis, includes one-on-one support in nutrition and fitness, post-surgical garment services, psychosocial support, and education focused on oral hygiene, skin care, hair care and holistic practices.
The program is the first of its kind in the Lehigh Valley, said Amanda Buss, the organization’s executive director.
“We’ve done bits and pieces of some of the offerings for this image recovery program, but not all in this one encompassing offering,” Buss said. “We see all cancer diagnoses, all ages, all sexes. So, we wanted to make a program that really was available for everyone to take advantage of and use and get the support that they need, because self-esteem is a really weighing factor on a cancer patient.”
Buss, who has stage 4 metastatic breast cancer, has lost her hair four times.
“And each time, it doesn’t get easy,” she said. “For us to be able to help women and also men, help them regain confidence in themselves, by programs that will help them build self-confidence and give them the tools that they need to overcome these barriers is just part of our mission here.”
The initiative’s focus includes everything, said Jen Sinclair, the organization’s program director.
“It’s the impact of body image appearance, self-esteem on the inside and out,” she said. “So, it goes further than just skin deep.”
Residents enrolled in the program can participate in panel discussions and group sessions, as well as get assessments on their fitness and nutrition. One instructor recently taught self-hypnosis and positive affirmations.
“Compliments alone aren’t enough; we hear this from our members a lot,” Sinclair said. “To help our members feel more whole, especially after a surgery, and of course, if a body part was removed or if it’s difficult for them to look in the mirror and see scars or losing their hair.
“The fact that we can add some other techniques and include this practice of affirmations and really kind of reprogramming how we talk to ourselves to feel like we are enough, it just helps step by step to make progress and heal,” she said.
And, the program is free, so patients don’t have to worry about insurance coverage.
“Because of the generosity of our funder of this program, you’re allowed to walk out of here with a free wig, you’re allowed to get this health and nutrition assessment, fitness assessment at no cost,” Buss said. “Whereas, if you’re going through treatment for cancer and you’re feeling down about yourself and you’re determining whether you buy groceries one week or if you go to see a nutritionist — we’re just so proud that we’re able to offer this program.”
For Reasinger, who said she has had a robust support system of family and friends, the image recovery program and other offerings made her realize “there’s this whole community of people that are going through what I’m going through.”
“It just makes you feel good to feel supported, but then to also support others, too,” she said. “And we all are on different journeys. We all have different things that we’re going through. … You can’t disregard the pain that you’re going through, whatever it is, physical, emotional. What you’re going through is important and matters.”
To register for the program, call Cancer Support Community at 610-861-7555 or email hkelly@cancersupportglv.org.
Morning Call reporter Molly Bilinski can be reached at mbilinski@mcall.com.
