AFTER an intense battle with cancer, Trudie Grant now feels she can “take on anything” thanks to the positive impact a group of volunteer beauticians have had on her life.

Trudie, from Walton, has recently been told she is in remission for a rare form of blood cancer called multiple myeloma, which she was diagnosed with in October last year.

She used to be a housekeeper but hasn’t worked for the past year after going through months of chemotherapy and treatment at Colchester and Ipswich hospitals after an MRI scan for back pain revealed a tumour.

The 57-year-old has been in remission since June, but had to undergo further intense chemotherapy at St Bart’s Hospital in July, which caused her hair to fall out.

She had hoped she would be lucky and avoid the hair loss, so it shattered her self-confidence.

Trudie decided to attend a Look Good Feel Better group designed to help women combat the visible side-effects of cancer treatment.

Groups are set up by the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association charity and offers free skincare and make-up workshops for more than 75 hospitals and cancer support groups across the UK.

Trudie attended a free one-off workshop in August at Lifehouse Spa, in Thorpe-le-Soken, where she was pampered by volunteer beauticians, taught how to apply make-up and replace eyebrows lost through chemotherapy.

When Trudie attended the two-hour session, she didn’t realise the enormous positive impact the volunteers’ time would have on her.

Afterwards she felt like a normal human being again.

Trudie said: “There was quite a few of us girls there, and we were all at different stages of cancer. It’s weird, but that makes you feel better.

“We talked about what cancer we had. We were all there for the same reason and because we’re all in different stages, you can think, well that’s what I’m going to look like in a few months’ time.

“The beautician don’t know the impact they have on women like us.

“We all sat and had our make-up done and we all talked to each other.

“We walked out looking amazing – I felt like I could take on anything.

“They’re the whole reason we can be our bubbly selves and they know how to make us feel better – it’s fantastic.

“You just feel better about yourself, and you can’t put a price on that, when you’ve gone through ten months of hell.”

The Look Good Feel Better workshops were originally based at Colchester General Hospital, but moved to Lifehouse last year to get out of the hospital environment and to make parking more accessible.

A number of the group’s beauticians left after the move, so Karen Reeve, breast services admin manager at Essex County Hospital, is now hoping for more trained make-up artists to volunteer their time.

Karen said:“I think the volunteers get a lot out of the workshops and I would encourage beauticians and make-up artists to give up a few hours once a month to provide a great experience for someone who is undergoing a journey that they didn’t choose to take.

“It is actually quite humbling and it’s good to give something back.”

Women who have had any form of cancer diagnosis in the past couple of years can attend and don’t need to have gone through chemotherapy.

If you would like to attend or volunteer and live or work in the Tendring area, contact Karen at Karen.Reeve@colchesterhospital.nhs.uk or info@lgfb.co.uk.