A Graceful Treatment

On Cancer –Specific Products: An Unnecessary Balm? New York Times July 10, 2008



In the recent article in the New York Times, the author describes a new line of skin care treatment for cancer patients. It sounds like a good idea….no worse than the myriad of skin care products on the market for the rich and famous and for the not so rich and famous that promise softer, younger looking skin. One aspect that strikes me as strange is the sense that people with cancer should not be concerned with their appearances and that somehow vanity should have eluded those who are terminally or potentially terminally ill. With the onslaught of new medical treatments for cancer we live longer and with the treatment processes lasting longer the side effects are around longer. As a young person, I wonder what is wrong with looking younger while undergoing treatment for cancer…as an older and wiser person, I realize that vanity lives with us as long as we are alive and there is a market for products that cater to our vanity. We want to age gracefully and to ail gracefully. Doing so with beautiful skin is one way we can do it.