You know that saying, ‘You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone?’
How often does having eyebrows or eyelashes come to mind? Never—unless you’re going through cancer treatment. Dr. Dawn Hunter decided to give back what was taken from patients—absolutely free.
A tragic reality for many patients is that they will likely lose all of their hair. Even more tragic is that one in eight women will be diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
Although non-hispanic white women have the highest rate of breast cancer incidence in the United States with 128 cases per 100,000, Asian and Pacific Islanders are close behind with 85 cases per 100,000, according to Susan G. Komen Organization. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in Korean, Chinese, Filipino, and Japanese women in the United States. While Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders tend to have lower rates of breast cancer than African American and white women, some API groups, including Native Hawaiian and Samoan women, have higher rates of breast cancer mortality than African-American or white women.
One woman’s battle with cancer has been highlighted in the headlines: Tera Martin was diagnosed with Stage 3 Breast Cancer at the age of 25. Martin started The Pink Gene Foundation to raise funds for young women who are deemed high risk or are currently battling breast cancer to provide them with resources for genetic testing and therapies and/or cost that are not covered by insurance. Pink Gene Foundation also focuses on educating women between the ages of 18-35 on prevention, genetic testing, and radiation free screening.
Martin said her experience with cancer treatments were demoralizing.
“I went home that night after a treatment and I washed my face. All my eyebrows and all my eyelashes fell out,” Martin commented with a heavy heart while sharing photos of her with no hair. “Honestly that is the hardest part because when you lose your eyebrows and eyelashes you really look sick.”
Master esthetician and permanent cosmetics tech Dr. Dawn Hunter of Radiant MedSpa said that the loss of hair as a result of cancer treatments can have a profound effect on women.
“This effects their psyche,” Hunter said. “It effects their view on beauty and how they feel as a woman.”
Hunter is giving free Permanent Cosmetics services to cancer patients—the most requested services being work on eyebrows.
Hunter’s clientele is roughly 25 percent Pan-Asian, she said. Hunter is taking on one new free patient per month, regardless of race or cancer type.
“If there is anything we can do to help patients restore that feeling of beauty in themselves, then I find it is a great way to give back to the community,” Hunter said.
Radiant MedSpa is located at 18415 33rd Ave. W., Lynnwood, WA.
