Cancer-Friendly Skin Care Finds Home at Braintree Spa

Last September, an MRI showed enlarged lymph nodes in Holly Brown's chest. She had surgery and a biopsy came back negative for cancer.

It was a powerful experience, and one that helped inform Brown's recent transition from a business partner at FAB Face and Body in Braintree to an esthetician now trained to provide skin care to cancer patients.

After years of massage therapists and estheticians largely staying away from people with cancer, concerned about spreading infected cells through the lymphatic system by pushing on nodes and draining them down through the body, new research and training has emerged that enables spas to offer safe and effective services.

FAB owner Melissa McDonald earned her esthetician certification 15 years ago when the message was to avoid cancer patients. Simple touch therapy – the practice of placing hands on specific body sites – was offered, but little else was widely available.

But that has changed in recent years. Today the American Cancer Society offers a program called "Look Good, Feel Better," that brings women together in workshops to learn beauty techniques that manage the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation.

Oncology Aesthetics, a worldwide organization, offers a certification program, and Brown and FAB are one of a handful of service providers on the group's list in Massachusetts.

"Skin is the largest organ in the body," Brown said. "It's that important."

Brown knows what it is like to deal with harsh skin problems. For the past 13 years she has suffered from Multiple Sclerosis, and several months ago began using a chemotherapy-based treatment called Rituximab. Her first experience was an eight-hour infusion that left her skin sensitive and caused acne flare-ups.

“When the body has been ravaged with radiation and chemotherapy, a person develops thinner skin, acne, sensitivity, and dryness," Brown said.

"Treating cancer patients, as well as those suffering from a varied number of medical problems, not only helps preserve and take care of their skin but also offers the benefit of a safe, comforting, sanitary environment where they are able to relax and forget for an hour or so about their daily battles."

Brown, who lives in Whitman with her husband, traveled to Arizona earlier this year for the Oncology Aesthetics program and also attended a one-day "Look Good, Feel Better" workshop in West Bridgewater.

In addition to the Soothing Oncology Facial, FAB stocks a line of cancer-friendly skin care products.

McDonald, an assistant clerk-magistrate in Boston, former Braintree School Committee member and current Planning Board member, is working with area hospitals to set up partnerships in which FAB can teach patients about oncology skin treatments. She hopes to start with Dana-Farber at South Shore Hospital.

For both McDonald and Brown, offering oncology services is more than just about a professional transition, it is also deeply personal. McDonald's aunt died after a long battle with breast cancer, and Brown's father passed away from lung cancer four years ago.

"It's a passion of ours to help these people," Brown said.

For more information, go to www.fabfaceandbody.org and www.oncologyesthetics.com.