display
“Can you make the cut tiny?
I don't want an ugly scar on my stomach. ”Rike Schulz can only smile today at the request to the surgeon before her first cancer operation.
The scar that has been running along the costal arch of the Hamburg journalist since her second operation, in which the gallbladder bed and metastases in the lymph nodes were removed, is 32 centimeters long.
This has not bothered her for a long time.
On the contrary!
“I used to think I'd have the scar lasered away at some point.
Now I think it's a bit of a shame that it has faded so much in the past seven years, ”says Rike.
“The scar reminds me of how hard I struggled to survive.
And the fact that I won the fight. "
Around 234,000 women develop cancer in Germany every year and face the fight between life and death.
Therapies such as radiation or chemotherapy also leave traces on the patient's exterior and lead to hair loss, skin irritation and the loss of eyelashes and eyebrows.
Even after successful completion of therapy, surgical scars and other traces remain, which trigger painful memories in some former patients.
"Those who look sick often feel even sicker"
display
In and around Hamburg there are therefore numerous offers that should help patients to feel better when they are suffering from the external traces of the disease.
Because what is not clear to many when it comes to such a serious illness as cancer: For a large number of people, the reflection in the mirror also has a not inconsiderable influence on well-being.
"Those who look sick often feel even sicker," says Imke Marahrens, nursing expert for breast diseases at the Agaplesion Diakoniezentrum Hamburg.
During her consultation hours, the "Breast Nurse" has to do with women who suffer from breast or ovarian cancer.
“Many of the patients lose their hair during the treatment.
Then we have the case that the women looked completely healthy before their diagnosis and you can only really see the disease in the course of the therapy. "
So that women can feel beautiful even while they are cancerous, there are cosmetic seminars at various clinics, such as the Agaplesion or the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), in which they learn how to deal with the external changes that cancer therapy brings about brings, should handle.
display
From cleaning and caring for the skin to tracing falling eyebrows and covering the spots on the skin as a result of radiation, there is nothing that the teachers - trained beauticians who lead the seminars - leave out.
“At the moment we can only hold the seminars online due to corona,” says Marahrens, “that is of course a shame;
Cancer patients don't just suffer from the disease.
In addition, they are often isolated because they cannot work. ”At the cosmetics seminars, patients have the opportunity to exchange ideas with one another without the disease being discussed.
The range is rounded off with a set of free products from luxury manufacturers such as Estée Lauder, Vichy and Chanel.
“That also helps the patients”, Marahrens is certain, “Cancer is also a financial emergency.
The products relieve patients. ”For many, the externalities such as hair loss and skin irritation are an additional burden to the disease, as you can see the disease immediately.
Permanent make-up can also improve wellbeing
display
The looks, whether strangers at work or your own looking at the mirror image, can hurt during cancer.
"Many cancer patients associate painful memories with their scars and traces of surgery and therefore choose cosmetic measures," says Eva Wanzek from BeautyArt, the Institute for Medical Pigmentation in Hamburg-Eppendorf.
The beautician, who specializes in permanent make-up, carries out nipple pigmentation in her practice on women who no longer have a nipple after a mastectomy.
“The nipple is often also amputated,” explains Wanzek.
After that, the nipple is reconstructed and formed from skin from the eyelids.
But what is still missing is the color.
"Many women report strange looks in the locker room of their fitness studio, or they don't like looking at themselves in the mirror anymore because their body reminds them of the cancer and the diagnosis."
The pigmentation of the nipple at Eva Wanzek is often the last step in ending the disease.
The permanent make-up artist works with various Hamburg clinics such as the UKE, Asklepios and Agaplesion; the costs are usually paid by the health insurers.
“My dream has always been to become a doctor,” reports Wanzek with a smile, “today I treat patients who are sent to me by the Hamburg clinics.
If they leave here happy afterwards, so am I. ”If it is up to her, the reflection in the mirror has an influence on well-being that should not be underestimated.
Cosmetic measures can also help improve the quality of life during illness.
“I often have cancer patients who lose their eyelashes and eyebrows during chemotherapy,” she says.
This is where pigmentation of the lash line or eyebrows helps, which are deceptively real and open the view.
"The costs are usually covered retrospectively by the health insurance company if you submit them."
Wigs, extensions or towels
How important is terminally ill people who need all their strength to fight the disease, their appearance in general?
“At no point in the treatment was my appearance really fundamental to me,” says Rike Schulz.
After the diagnosis, she googled "gallbladder cancer" - and read on the Internet how low her chance of survival is.
"Two percent ...!
But: At least ... that is better than zero percent ”was her motto from then on.
The oncologist at a Hamburg clinic also pushed flyers from the hospice over the table.
"I didn't just lack the strength for vanity - I was busy trying not to freak out at the thought of possible death."
Still, she never looked unkempt, even when she was only allowed to shower once a week due to a three-month radiation marathon in order to keep marks on the skin intact.
Although the importance of her own optics became less relevant, it was a shock for Rike Schulz when her hair fell out after 20 chemo sessions, leaving only a sparse residue.
“I thought: 'Now I've almost made it!
Damn it.
Why is my body signaling something that I associate with illness? '"
display
Her oncologist said it was normal and she could be prescribed a wig.
Rike didn't want that.
Instead, a friend thickened the rest of her hair with extensions.
“My plan B was Hermès wipes - I could have hidden my bald head underneath and rewarded myself for the chemo,” she says.
"Almost every woman who loses her hair in the course of treatment asks for a wig," says Imke Marahrens from the Breast Center at the University of Hamburg.
The health insurance usually pays at least part of the amount.
Sometimes former patients also donate used wigs to their clinic.
Anyone who dares and wants to do something good can donate hair.
Sometimes you even feel better yourself, like Imke Wedekind.
The former professional volleyball player decided earlier this year to cut off her long blonde hair and donate it to cancer patients.
“I was unexpectedly bitten in the face by a dog two years ago in December,” says Wedekind. “Before that, I never gave much thought to my appearance.
I didn't care, I just didn't think about it much. "
The incident made her grapple with herself, her self-esteem, and the urge to always please.
“Fortunately, I quickly learned that you don't always have to look for the why and that there isn't something good in everything that happens to you, but that you have to make something good out of it.
That's why I wanted to give away something that is particularly important to me. "
Imke Wedekind decided to cut off her hair, for which she had always received a lot of compliments in the past.
Just a few minutes after entering her hairdressing salon in Eppendorf, the braid fell on the floor, ready to be processed with other braids into a real hair wig.
"I don't know who is wearing the wig and my former hair now," says Wedekind, "but I hope that this person only wears it because they want it for themselves and not so that they can hide from others, just like I would have done earlier if it had been possible. "
When Rike Schulz looks in the mirror today, the scar reminds her of what her body has done, how she struggled to survive, and she is more than comfortable with it.