Pretty Sick: The Beauty Guide for Women with Cancer by Caitlin M. Kiernan

c.2017, Grand Central Life & Style

$19.99/$25.99 Canada

272 pages

Oh, that’s not good. There’s more hair on your shower drain than there is on your head.

Not good at all; thanks, chemo, for that and for dry skin, no eyebrows, weight fluctuations and brittle nails. You’re trying to get better; looking better shouldn’t be so impossible. With Pretty Sick by Caitlin M. Kiernan, you’ll look primo despite chemo.

So the diagnosis is in. You’ve got cancer, and you’re no dummy: you know what’s about to happen, to the inside of you and the outside. So how do you take care of the former, while keeping the latter looking great?

First of all, says Kiernan: Smell. Yes, chemotherapy might affect your sense of smell and your taste buds. You’ll want to avoid your favorite foods on chemo day, and set aside your usual scented lotions for now.

Look for a second-best to get you through, and return to your faves after treatment is over and your olfactory sense returns.

The subject of hair is touchy, but it’s something that can be easily handled. Wigs today are stylishly realistic, hats are fashionable and scarves look great if you wear them right. Shop for these things now while you still have hair or, if thinning is what’s to come, talk to a stylist.

Remember: It’s only hair. It’ll come back.

It might sound like just another thing, but make an appointment with your dentist before starting treatment and know how to make “magic mouthwash” to combat mouth sores.

Be willing to experiment with makeup; if you can, get a makeover or, at the very least, ask for samples of product you can try at home. Go a little crazy. Have fun with it.

As for your skin, yes, chemotherapy will change that too, so beware. Now’s the time to consider changing your morning routine with different cleansers and products, but think twice before going “organic.”

Showers are always better than baths, and be sure to slather on moisturizer once you’ve patted yourself dry. There are also lots of great products to use if you’ll have radiation, but talk to your doctor or oncologist first.

I was happy to see that warning inside Pretty Sick. I was happy, in fact, to see that author Caitlin M. Kiernan is careful to caution her readers on just about everything in this book, which makes it even more helpful.

So does the fact that Kiernan herself is a cancer survivor, which gives her words a “been there, done that” ring of truth – not just for beauty, but in dressing comfortably, finding a surgeon, reconstruction and reclaiming a healthy sex life, all with purpose and strength.

Also nice: While her examples do have a certain big-city tone to them and there’s a lot of celeb name-dropping, the tips and advice are totally down-to-earth.

And on that note, while this book was written for cancer survivors, it could be helpful for any woman facing serious illness. If you want to look great when you’re not feeling it so much, Pretty Sick is pretty good.

Terri Schlichenmeyer has been reading since she was three years old and never goes anywhere without a book. She lives on a hill in Wisconsin with two dogs and 14,000 books. Readers with questions or comments may write to Terri in care of this publication.