100 Cancer Patients Treated Free at Pink Pamper Day

Coogee Beach, Australia -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/31/2012 -- The Sunshine Centre Announces: PINK PAMPER DAY at Wylie’s Baths Coogee Beach on 2 November, 2012 from 10AM-2PM. We will be offering free complementary therapies to 100 cancer patients by practitioners who are donating their time and expertise. Therapies include: yoga, meditation, massage and tai chi as well as life coaching and nutritional raw food advice.

The Sunshine Centre’s vision is to create a haven of compassion and support for breast cancer sufferers, filled with peace and tranquillity, in beautiful surroundings. As part of October’s Breast Cancer Awareness month activities, The Sunshine Centre is being launched by Sally Park. It is an exciting new initiative established to pamper and support those suffering and recovering from breast and other cancers.

Sally Park, AKA Sally Sunshine, herself in remission for breast cancer and who has Fallot’s Tetralogy, which has required two open heart surgeries, is launching a wonderful new resource and support centre for people, living in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, suffering and recovering from cancer (with a focus on breast cancer).

The Sunshine Centre is a completely new idea by innovative Coogee local, Sally Park. It is to be a haven for breast cancer sufferers where they will be able to experience therapies including yoga, meditation, massage and tai chi as well as life coaching and nutritional raw food advice (for free) while undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment. The first Pink Pamper Day is being supported by Wiley’s Baths, Coogee, NSW who have generously provided their stunning beachside location for the event.

As Sally says, “at the height of my treatment, when I had no hair and my face was all puffed up, it was so amazing to be able to have a massage and a facial and enjoy the wonderful feeling of being pampered and made to feel special. I truly believe that the benefits of massage, reflexology and some of the incredible health and beauty products, that I use and now promote, made an enormous difference to my overall health and wellbeing. It is this feeling I would like to share with people who, like me, have days in their treatment when they just need (and deserve) to be pampered.”

Research into the benefits of complementary therapies for cancer patients has been widely conducted and has been found to be especially beneficial in dealing with the unwanted side effects associated with chemo and radio therapy.

The Sunshine Centre aims to offer recurring Pink Pamper Days with a variety of therapies including: yoga, meditation, massage and tai chi as well as life coaching and nutritional raw food advice and a variety of other therapies.

The opportunity to just hang out, have a healthy protein shake or a fresh juice and meet other people who are dealing with cancer is an integral part of the Sunshine Centre.

Sally went through her chemotherapy treatment in the UK where the use of “cold caps” (meant to put off hair loss) was prevalent. Sally’s stories of sitting with a drip in her arm, filled with bright red, radioactive liquid running into her body while wearing what felt like an ice cream tub on her head, with the ice cream still in it, are both poignant and funny at the same time.

After one late stage chemotherapy, Sally and her sister went home to wash the conditioner out of Sally’s hair (after her “cold cap” helmet was removed). Sally’s hair came out in clumps and completely clogged the drain hole.

Sally was ready for this, but even so, was shocked and upset, but her sister wasn’t at all prepared and, while managing to put on a brave face until she left Sally’s house and burst into uncontrollable tears at the trauma and pain her sister was going through.

Finally, Sally decided she had had enough of cold caps, hair falling out in clumps and the incredible pain of every single hair follicle feeling like it was a needle piercing her scalp. But, unlike in Australia, where women are recommended to shave their heads fairly soon after starting treatment, the UK didn’t do this and Sally had an impossible time finding a hairdresser who would shave her head of all its hair.

She finally resorted to calling a friend who brought over the pet clippers and the two of them took a chair outside, while the builders looked on, and Sally whipped off her wig and shaved her head completely bald. All the while laughing and crying at the constant and overwhelming indignity of breast cancer.

“Dealing with other people and their reactions to your cancer can be incredibly stressful” says Sally. Two curious mothers even had the audacity to lift up Sally’s wig, in the playground of her child’s school, to see her bald, shaved head. “And I felt humiliated when my friends took my wig/hat off – you lose your hair, get fat from steroids and you’re bald… not great when you’re a woman!”

The Sunshine Centre is creating a haven for people with breast cancer to be among others who understand these types of stresses and who would benefit from sharing common experiences in a beautiful and peaceful environment. Pink Pamper Day is supported by professional complementary therapists and nutritionists.

While being positive is essential, there are some days when you just want to cry and feel a bit blue about it all. Being given permission to feel this way is so important and The Sunshine Centre aims to provide a place where people can be understood and can feel supported, no matter how they are feeling that day.

You can support and find out more about The Sunshine Centre through our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/TheSunshineCentre

The Sunshine Centre looks forward to putting a little bit of sunshine into everyone’s lives.

If you know anyone who would like to be one of the 100 pampered people and who is suffering from breast cancer, please encourage them to contact The Sunshine Centre through our Facebook page.

The Sunshine Centre’s Pink Pamper Day Promotional Video Here

The program for The Sunshine Centre’s Pink Pamper Day at this stage is as follows:
Nicki West 10.15 - 11 Yoga
Anick Patry 11.00 - 11.30 Joy activator and coach
Connie 11.45 - 12.15 Meditation - Coogee Remedial Massage
Murray 1.00 - 2 Tai Chi and Qigong
Denise is a healer and she will help to fill in the gaps - plus people may run over slightly.
The Oneness Cafe will do juice shots
Shereen Massage by the sea and Connie will be doing mini 15 minute massages.

We have had many local businesses support us and these include:
Wylie’s Baths, Coogee
Love Coogee
Pia - Graphic Design
Kylie Lambert – le Cupcake
Go Viral Now – video, social media, pr, web design
EverythingEasternBeaches.com