IN THE INTERIM BLOG
Mani, Pedi, Chemo aka Nailing It

My best friend, as you will know, was diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2016 and, after having surgery went on to commence a regime of chemotherapy. Early on in the process, Heather was told some anecdotal evidence that dark nail polish could protect nails from the rigours of chemo (yep, don’t forget hair and nails are made of the same stuff and we all know what chemo does to your hair). Working on the principle “nothing ventured, nothing gained” Heather embraced the dark side and had her nails painted a gorgeous, glamourous gothic black. Her nails looked amazing.
And so we waited.
Her nails stayed strong, with only intermittent softening, and scarcely any flaking or peeling. There was a little staining of the nail bed – despite using a base coat – but only to be expected when using a dark pigmentation. Black nail polish was swapped on occasion with sophisticated maroon and the nails stayed strong.
Is it the dark polish, the fact that they have any kind of nail polish, or is it the fact that dark colours are so high maintenance that you take extra care of your hands and feet anyway? Who knows, but all I can say is, it appears to work. I gave Heather a refresh of her maroon polish a few weeks ago and her nails were looking good.
Which brings me back to hair, eye lashes and brows to be precise. A further anecdote led Heather to try a product called M2. A tiny, tiny bottle with an even tinier brush that you glide onto the base of your eyelashes and over your brows. Heather was just starting to lose her lashes and brows when she started using M2 and, three weeks later, the fall out stopped. Even at the end of six chemo sessions, her lashes fluttered, brows were there to be nonchalantly raised and nails were gleamingly intact. Mani, pedi, chemo….she nailed it.
This is far from a scientific study, it’s far too emotional and close to home for that, but I’m putting this story “out there”. Perhaps you are a cancer nurse specialist, perhaps you are involved in a support group, perhaps you are about to embark on your own treatment journey – to me, this is worth a try. Or should that be a flutter?