Having undergone three chemo-therapy treatments in seven years, Mrs. Henkin knows too well how the effects of cancer, and cancer treatments, can wreak havoc on one's body image and energy level. "The last thing you want to do is run around looking for a wig or breast prosthesis. You need a place where you can say, 'Stop the craziness, I need comfort'- a place where anguish and pain can be released."

For Mrs. Henkin and other cancer patients, that place is the Coleman Foundation Image Renewal Center located within the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center at Loyola University Medical Center. The facility offers professional services and products to help cancer patients restore their physical and mental well-being.

In a newly constructed facility on the first floor of the cancer center, the Image Renewal Center will offer therapeutic manicures and pedicures from board-certified manicurists trained to work with cancer patients, prosthesis fitting for breast cancer patients, professionally styled wigs, an eclectic scarf and hat collection, and skincare products. Patients concerned about losing their hair can have it cut or shaved prior to having it fall out, giving them a sense of control over their appearance.

As part of Loyola's Complementary and Alternative Medicine Program, massage therapy, acupuncture, biofeedback, nutrition counseling, exercise programs, art therapy and mental and spiritual counseling will be offered. Loyola's rehabilitation program will offer education on fatigue management and conditioning.

The Image Renewal Center was made possible in part by a generous grant from the Coleman Foundation.

The center is a dream-come-true for Barb Buturusis, administrative director of the cancer center, and Thom De Vries, Image Renewal Center manager, who have been working on this project for the past six years. "We already help cancer patients fight their disease with chemotherapy, radiation and surgery," Buturusis said. "Now we have a facility that will bring all our programs together to renew our emphasis on treating the whole person, especially the spirit."

"When coping with cancer, you have to deal with every aspect affected - mental physical and emotional," said Mrs. Henkin. "You have to keep a positive attitude . . . absolutely, attitude has helped me get through this. When you come to a place where they take care of you, you feel better and your attitude changes."

Mrs. Henkin lost her hair with each chemotherapy treatment, and her formerly thick and wavy hair is now thin and straight. Her nails did not grow back until a year after treatment. As with many cancer patients, her spirit suffered, too, and she felt exhausted all the time.

"That's why the Image Renewal Center will be so beneficial," Henkin said. "Cancer patients can find all services and products they need in one place - get treatments, see the doctor, see the psychologist or social worker, attend the support group. And it's more like going to a spa than a hospital," she added, "with massages and manicures available under the same roof. It's a more positive, relaxing, spiritually enhancing experience."

"You want to know that this center is your home - not a sterile hospital - a place where you'll find comfort, you'll find peace, you'll find other people just like you."

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