{"id":1307,"date":"2016-11-15T22:22:36","date_gmt":"2016-11-15T22:22:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/msapc.managed3.brouser.net\/plastic-surgery\/?p=1307"},"modified":"2021-07-09T19:45:08","modified_gmt":"2021-07-09T19:45:08","slug":"this-blogger-is-posing-topless-to-show-another-side-of-living-with-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/msapc.com\/plastic-surgery\/this-blogger-is-posing-topless-to-show-another-side-of-living-with-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"This Blogger Is Posing Topless To Show Another Side Of Living With Cancer"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Claire Hannum<\/a><\/p>\n

Dena Smith, who runs the fashion and beauty blog\u00a0Leo With Cancer<\/a>, was diagnosed with\u00a0breast cancer<\/a>\u00a0in 2012, on her 29th birthday. As she began chemotherapy, the now 33-year-old shared her treatment experiences with her blog followers. When she underwent a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery three years later, she once again took her readers on the journey with her\u2014and in the process, she shared beautiful photos of her recovery that flip the script on how the internet views cancer treatment.<\/p>\n

When Smith searched online for ideas of what to expect from the reconstruction process after her mastectomy, she didn\u2019t love what she found. \u201cThe internet of illness is a dark and scary place,\u201d Smith tells SELF. \u201cWhen I searched for images during the process of my mastectomy and reconstruction what I found just upset me. There were a lot of headless doctor\u2019s office before and afters. Naked bodies do not look flattering standing in unflattering lighting without heads. Then there were these gorgeous heartbreaking photos, always black and white, of very brave, very sad people. That wasn\u2019t how I saw myself after the surgery. I liked how I looked.\u201d<\/p>\n

To offer a more positive spin on post-mastectomy imagery, Smith teamed up with friend and photographer\u00a0Lydia Hudgens<\/a>\u00a0to star in a series of gorgeous photos depicting her post-surgery appearance (and her great fashion sense, natch). Every photo in the series is an image of confidence, joy, and self-acceptance. Smith had been covering fashion on her blog for years, so a stylized shoot was right up her alley. It was also a perfect opportunity to\u00a0provide hope to other women<\/a> facing a breast cancer diagnosis. \u201cI thought because of my fashion and beauty blog that I could create something that looked fun and cool and sexy,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s photos, along with her candid blog posts about her journey, gave readers a more genuine picture of the ups and downs of the aftermath of the surgery. She explains that having a post-mastectomy reconstruction is very different from having a standard breast augmentation. \u201cInstead of just inserting an implant, you have to go through the whole process that takes months. They take out so much tissue, and sometimes skin, that there\u2019s a whole device (called a tissue expander) and process to stretch out the chest before they can do a reconstruction. That process was probably the hardest part because I had this rock-hard tissue expander sitting awkwardly on my chest. You have to have imagination to see that the final result is going to be amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith is still living with cancer\u2014doctors discovered that the disease had spread to her bones during her initial chemotherapy treatments. Once cancer metastasizes to the bone, it is incurable. \u201cMy official diagnosis is Stage IV metastatic breast cancer,\u201d Smith says. \u201cMetastatic breast cancer is a totally different disease than we think of breast cancer. It has a 100 percent mortality rate. I\u2019m doing great on my current treatment regimen, but I hope every day for a cure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s health status often comes to a surprise to friends and blog followers, because Smith doesn\u2019t necessarily reflect what people imagine when they think of life with Stage IV cancer. \u201cIt\u2019s shocking to a lot of people,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s not what I look like or how I live my life. I tell people it\u2019s like I\u2019m a diabetic, there\u2019s this part of my body that isn\u2019t working right. As long as I have access to the medicine that keeps my condition under control, I live a relatively normal life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith receives treatments every three weeks. While Smith\u2019s treatments mostly allow her to carry on normally through her everyday life, it doesn\u2019t come without some tough obstacles. \u201cThe hardest side effects of my treatment besides fatigue, nausea, and nerve damage is what it did to my skin,\u201d Smith explains. \u201cThe chemo and the hormone therapies can cause premature aging\u2014they break down collagen, impacting firmness and elasticity\u2014but also acne. It\u2019s like the worst of both worlds.\u201d Of course, as a beauty blogger, this predicament provides endless inspiration. \u201cIt\u2019s been awesome for the blog, because if a [beauty] product works on me then it will definitely work on a healthy person\u2019s skin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith has armed herself with an arsenal of go-to self-care rituals to get through the physical and emotional stress that can come with living with an illness. Her favorite? Skincare. \u201cI always say skin is the largest organ of the body. We wear our health around, and when I\u2019m not feeling well I can see it,\u201d Smith says. \u201cMy pores get bigger, the bags under my eyes puff out, I break out in acne and rashes.\u201d Smith likes to combat this with a peel or exfoliating mask, followed by a detox or clay mask. \u201cThen I\u2019ll do light therapy or a microcurrent session. I\u2019ll finish it all up with a moisturizing mask. The idea is really that I\u2019m treating myself. Whenever possible I will perform this ritual in a pink bathtub, with candles and maybe a movie on my laptop. Afterwards I cannot help but feel better.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Smith often shares on her blog, the key to this type of self-care is approaching beauty and fashion in a fun and positive light. \u201cInstead of punishing my skin for \u2018not behaving,\u2019 I think about it as a chance to nurture and care for myself,\u201d she explains. \u201cTo try to get back in balance. I will also [practice self-care] by just getting dressed and putting on makeup. Even if I have nowhere to go. Makeup is fun, or at least it should be. It feels good to smear things on your face, to add glow and sparkle.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because breast cancer treatment and research is often geared toward women who are diagnosed with breast cancer later in life, Smith regularly educates blog readers about how different it is\u00a0to experience the disease<\/a>\u00a0as a young woman. \u201cYoung adult breast cancer<\/a>\u00a0is just so different than having it later,\u201d Smith explains. \u201cWhen they catch [breast cancer] in a young woman\u00a0it\u2019s a usually lump<\/a>, and the odds that it has spread to the lymph nodes or bones is so much higher.\u201d (Women are\u00a0usually advised<\/a>\u00a0to begin getting regular mammograms between ages 40 and 50, and younger women\u2019s breasts are often too dense for the machine to catch signs of cancer. As a result, many younger women don\u2019t discover they have breast cancer until they find a lump in their breast.) \u201cThere\u2019s also a longterm impact to the way we treat breast cancer\u2014so what works for an older woman may not work for someone like me who hopes to be on the treatment for the next 50-80 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith hopes that sharing her personal journey encourages younger women to not only remain aware of their breast cancer risk, but also to embrace themselves exactly as they are. \u201cBefore I got sick I always wanted to be something different\u2014shorter, thinner, thicker hair, smaller nose, no freckles,\u201d Smith says. \u201cThese days I look in the mirror and I think,\u00a0damn<\/em>. No, but seriously, I have so much gratitude for my body and my skin and my hair now. If I lost it all I would still be grateful. I think feeling beautiful is important\u2014it\u2019s okay to want that. It\u2019s just not okay to think you\u2019re somehow not enough because you don\u2019t fit into a certain idea of what that looks like.\u201d After all, as Smith reminds us, \u201cThe only definition of sexy or beautiful that matters is your own.\u201d Take a look at some of her gorgeous photos below, and\u00a0read more<\/a>\u00a0about the shoot on\u00a0Leo With Cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Less\u00a0than ten percent<\/a>\u00a0of funding raised for breast cancer research goes toward focusing on metastatic breast cancer. Learn more about the cause at the\u00a0Young Survival Coalition<\/a>. Help the fight against breast cancer by making a donation to the\u00a0Breast Cancer Research Foundation<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.self.com\/story\/blogger-post-mastectomy-living-with-cancer<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Claire Hannum Dena Smith, who runs the fashion and beauty blog\u00a0Leo With Cancer, was diagnosed with\u00a0breast cancer\u00a0in 2012, on her 29th birthday. 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