La Journée Glamour!

I heard about this day at the Seminar at Gustave Roussy with my friend.

It's a day specifically for women who have had cancer and subsequent treatments and who finished their treatments at least 3 months ago.  The Day is organised in several French cities throughout the year and run and financed by an Association called Clairs Horizons whose goals are:-

«promouvoir, d’entreprendre et de soutenir toutes activités liées au développement et à la promotion des relations humaines et à la communication.

Et particulièrement  pratiquer, promouvoir ou entreprendre  toute action ou activité visant à informer, encourager ou soutenir les personnes atteintes ou ayant été atteintes du cancer et /ou leur entourage.»

Loosely translated; "To promote and undertake all activities linked with the development or promotion of human relations and communication and in particular practise, promote and undertake all actions or activities which inform or support people who have or have had cancer, or their family or friends." 

The Day has two objectives

1. For women to regain their self-confidence and their femininity.

2. To communicate advice about nutrition and exercise.

The Day was ran by Nathalie Stamoulis (see biography in this link)

http://www.lajourneeglamour.com/#!qui-sommes-nous-/c9vn

who looked absolutely radiant and sophisticated in her beautiful pink dress.

Here's how the Glamour Day is described on the website:-

http://www.lajourneeglamour.com/#!droulement-de-la-journe/c1e1d

I applied for a place on the Day back in May and was a bit worried that I hadn't heard anything, but was delighted when finally the confirmation of my place came through.  It was something I was really looking forward to and I proudly told my friends about it.  I was seeing as a fresh start, a new step in the right direction and I was really excited about being pampered!

The Day was held at a 4* hotel, Hotel Regina, in central Paris.  It's an old, traditional hotel of the classic style with a pretty terrace.  Even the loos were pretty!

The day kicked off with coffee and tea and water (on one of the hottest days of summer so far).  Nathalie explained how the Day would unfold and opened with a Group Share.  I didn't feel confident enough to speak out in front of everyone (there were about 20-30 women there) and it was hard to hear, so I listened as well as I could to everyone elses story.  There were some shocking, sad stories and it was an emotional time for both the women telling their story and those listening.  Nathalie's assistant went round the room with a box of tissues, dispensing them when necessary.  Everyone who wanted to speak got a chance and nobody interrupted; we all waited quietly if the speaker needed to cry.  It was a very privileged and intimate moment that we all shared.

I found listening to other stories very humbling.  They all seem much more unbearable and infinitely harder than my own and to be honest, I felt like a bit of an intruder as I felt my experience was nowhere near as bad as others' and I felt guilty that I had got off relatively lightly.  Nobody made me feel like that, only my own feelings were giving me that, it must be said.....best to address that with the Listening Brunette tomorrow!

Then Nathalie gave us some psychological tools and advice about how to cope with difficult times and how to think about cancer and our fears through a visualisation exercise, how to eat well, what to avoid and the importance of exercise.

After lunch, it was the exciting part!  I walked into the coffee room after lunch, which was abuzz with activity - on one side was a bank of hairdressers cutting and blowdrying the participants hair, on the other side, a bank of chairs at a long table chocca block full of make up, Payot skin care and girls' stuff with a line of participants being made up.

Whilst we waited our turn, we talked and exchanged experiences and snacked on delicious mini desserts (sorry didn't get a photo).  I was made up by a lovely young woman who spent a long time on my face and made my eyes really 'pop' with orange/gold make up and coral lipstick.  It really was very pretty and my neigbour complimented me!

Then, off to the hairdresser for a blow dry (I had had my hair cut on Thursday so no need for that).  After a surprisingly short blow dry, I was impressed by the volume the hairdresser had managed to give me.

Afterwards, I posed for the very charming photographer on the terrace.  He'll be sending me the photos by email and I can even ask him to Photoshop the bits I don't like!!  I also participated in a little demonstration of how to fix false eyelashes.  This is particularly important after chemotherapy as the patients frequently lose their eyelashes and sometimes they don't grow back or become a lot finer and sparse.  One lovely lady had a tumor in her eye and the false eyelashes really made a difference to her confidence.

After a group photo and thanks to all, we went home with a goodie bag with Sothys products and some very useful information sheets from La Ligue Contre le Cancer regarding eating and exercise.

Everybody during the Day was kind and friendly - the participants, the hairdressers, make up artists, the organisers, the hotel staff, the photographer.  It was really great that everyone was so open and willing to share their experiences and feelings.  It was all the more suprising as, coming from an Anglophone culture, I am well used to sharing my feelings with people I don't know, and laying myself open, but all the more suprising was I find that usually French people are much more reticent at opening up to strangers and it normally takes a long time for them to be honest and frank, but not today.  So, well done to the facilitator for setting the scene, making it safe to speak and encouraging everyone to share if they wished.  I had some very moving individual conversations over coffee which continued on the metro when we all went our separate ways home.

I think the most poignant thing of the day for me was hearing a young woman who kept her hat on all morning.  She cried a lot during the group share and when she spoke she said she didn't consider herself brave at all when compared to the rest of the women in the room, she thought she lacked courage.  She seemed very sad and later explained that before the chemotherapy she had had waist length hair which her father shaved off for her as it began to fall out; it was evidently a source of real grief for her.  She was a changed woman after the make up and hair.  She had found the courage to take off her hat and reveal her fine short brown hair which was shiny and curled around her face.  Her made up face was glowing and beautiful and she had a wide smile to match, she was delighted with her appearance.  As we kissed goodbye, I said 'lose the hat if you can', you are beautiful like that.  I hope she does.

It was a very good day.  Thank you to Clairs Horizons and all of those who participated and made La Journée Glamour possible.