The Power of a Makeover: My Full-Circle Moment with LGFB

July 9, 2026

Living through breast cancer and attending a Look Good Feel Better (LGFB) workshop didn’t just impact me – they completely changed the course of my life.

I’ve always wanted to have a job that was in service of people, and to be able to be the bright spot in someone’s day. Last year, in my 50s, as a grandmother of four, I finally did it — nearly a decade after my initial breast cancer diagnosis. I reinvented myself. I quit my job, graduated from an aesthetics program, and started my own business.

Through my business, I offer facials and non-invasive treatments. I always include a facial massage, too. I want to give every single client a deeply relaxing, restorative experience.

The skincare and spa parts of my business were directly inspired by my journey with cancer and LGFB. When I was going through cancer, my skin was a mess. I didn’t feel beautiful or like myself. And I was starved for touch.

There were days I was in the hospital for my treatment and surgery when there was no personal touch – just doctors in and out, surgeons, and stitches. But there was nobody there to wash my back or clean my face. That impacted me quite a bit and left a mark. I was deeply inspired by my own unmet need for gentle, healing touch during treatment.

Now, through my facials, I can offer that same healing touch to others. Touch offers real connection and emotional healing. Just yesterday, a woman told me, “That was better than therapy!” I love that part of my work. I just want to be the best part of someone’s day. And I truly believe that touch is transformative – especially for women and moms. We’re always giving, always putting other people first. We need to receive, too. Seniors, single women, people experiencing illness – there’s a lot of loneliness out there, and caring touch can make all the difference.

Alongside starting my business, I’ve also begun to volunteer. I remember watching hospital volunteers during my treatment and seeing the positive impact they had. I felt the same attending an LGFB workshop. I always thought, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have the time to be able to volunteer?” But I was a single mother of five, and at that point in my life, there just wasn’t time.

Now that my youngest is off to university, I can finally give back. I’ve been volunteering at LGFB’s workshops in Kitchener-Waterloo, and I love it. It feels like such a full-circle moment. I was once sitting in that LGFB chair, and now I’m guiding others through the same transformation. It’s essentially a makeover in an hour. People arrive with slumped shoulders, feeling uncertain and tired. By the end of the workshop, they’re transformed. They’re happy, they’re refreshed. They’re making plans together. They feel like their old selves again. It’s so rewarding to see that. And I love teaching because these lessons are invaluable. I still use the eyebrow technique I learned 10 years ago at my LGFB session! 

Through volunteering and running my business, I feel that I’m helping to redefine beauty and aging. After treatment, my hair grew back completely grey – and although it felt too soon to be grey, I embraced it. In fact, I got more compliments on my grey hair than I ever got on my brown hair. My greys, my scars – I embrace it all. I’m in the second act of my life, and it’s pretty amazing. I want to uplift other women going through similar changes.