Beauty Reality Check: Cancer Style

We often take the view on this site about how media influences our self-esteem, or ways in which to maintain healthy self-esteem.  But what we haven’t talked on here about are the implications of disease on self-esteem.  Part of the reason I became aware of self-esteem was due to Mark’s battle with Ulcerative Colitis for 7 years, and how that disease slowly ate away at his self-esteem leaving him with one identity sick, and being sick holds little value or worth in our society. 

Well, here is the face and words of woman fighting her 2nd round of colon cancer.  On her blog The Colon Chronicles she writes “Alright, I said I was gonna ‘document’ stuff more. So *gulp* here goes.
Documentation of the evil phenomena known as “erbirash”
(jeez I hate seeing myself so close up) [Photo 1] the comparison picture below was taken just a few weeks ago [Photo 2]. I look like a pimply-faced teenager. I am not cute. And this is how I normally can be seen while on chemo: [photo shown] Don’t I just look thrilled.
There ya have it. I guess when I’ve bitched in the past about how people don’t seem to fully grasp that you’re “sick” or not well, if you don’t look like the typical chemo patient…didn’t lose your hair, no outward signs of illness….Guess this time around chemo made sure I got some outwardly visible signs.   Damn I shoulda kept my mouth shut.” 

I know how difficult it is under healthy circumstance to have good self-esteem, but I can’t even imagine how incredibly difficult it would be to maintain healthy self-esteem while battling something like Cynnycal’s fight with cancer. 

Also, it is time we all start addressing the very real issues of self-esteem and the related symptoms of disease:

Self-esteem and IBD is discussed “Some of the emotional challenges that are typical of those diagnosed with IBD are:
1. Self Esteem
2. Self Image
3. Depression
4. Anger
5. Grieving
6. Sense of loss that your life isn’t ever going to be the same
7. Feeling alone
8. Feeling different
9. Shame/Guilt
10. Embarrassment
(*Some of the items on this list were offered in Sherry Porat’s presentation at the IBD conference on Nov. 3,2007)”