You’re still you after cancer: Chiara’s Survivor Story
Sejuti Mourin of DOT
Chiara D’Agostino, Blogger at Beauty Through The Beast and a former high school Italian teacher, was diagnosed with breast cancer for the first time at age 43. After undergoing chemotherapy, two single mastectomies and reconstruction she eventually found out her breast cancer had progressed to stage four. Dove celebrates the beauty and strength of all women. It seems like America is obsessed with women’s cleavage. And so, when it came time to my breasts being compromised, I didn’t want to think of the idea of going flat. I wanted to still have cleavage. After undergoing a double mastectomy and complications from reconstructive surgery, she decided to go flat. But it’s the decision that i needed to make if wanted to stay alive.
Helena Lewis-Smith, Research fellow, Dove ambassador said, ‘Because of our society, there’s this expectation that women have long hair and that women have symmetrical breasts and that women have eyebrows and that they have eyelashes. Once women finish treatment, that’s when appearance is at the forefront of their mind. Because they’ve dealt with the disease, they’ve reduced the threat to their life and then they start thinking about how their body looks so different. Chiara said that, ‘I look at myself a lot more now in the mirror than I ever have before to maybe just get used to who I am and what I see. I see the different folds and all the different characters of my scars. I see them. I’m still a person. I’m still a woman and still alive. Sometimes I don’t know how I’m doing it, because it’s really hard. I see a beautiful woman.
Helena said, how powerful are they that they’ve had their bodies fight this life-threatening disease? We should be striving to make that group of women realize that they are beautiful regardless of what appearance their body has. I working toward a world in which all women can enjoy a positive experience of beauty. Chiara added that breast cancer isn’t a ribbon. And this is my body now. This is my skin. This is who I am now, and it’s ok. This is the reality of it sucks and it’s hard and it can be ugly. And it can also be beautiful.
Source: MIC(Facebook Page), Thrive Global