Embracing Your Body's Beauty
- Supermodel Christie Brinkley, who is redefining femininity with her continued confidence amid aging, turned 70 years old over the weekend and dazzled her fans with photos from her birthday festivities.
- Brinkley, who rose to fame as a Sports Illustrated cover model in the late 1970s/early 1980s and previously experienced a frightening breast cancer scare which inspired her to write a children’s book, took to social media to share how she enjoyed her milestone birthday.
- The cancer scare inspired Brinkley’s introduction she wrote in a free children’s book, written by Laura Numeroff, called “Kids Talk,” from the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
- “Body image is both the mental picture that you have of your body and how you feel about your body when you look in a mirror,” Dr. Marianna Strongin, a New York-based licensed clinical psychologist, tells SurvivorNet. She adds, “As you allow yourself to spend more time looking at all of you, you will begin having a new relationship with your body.”
It’s great to see the mom of three, who rose to fame as a Sports Illustrated cover model in the late 1970s/early 1980s and previously experienced a frightening breast cancer scare which inspired her to write a children’s book, exuding confidence and embracing getting older as she enters her “Golden Years.”
Read MoreAlongside an uplifting Instagram post, featuring Brinkley smiling on a boat, the beloved super model and former wife of musician Billy Joel, whom she shares one daughter with, kicked off her birthday weekend with an optimistic outlook on life.View this post on Instagram
She captioned the post, “I must be entering my ‘Golden Years’ because suddenly everything looks gold! (I wonder if they added the ‘G’ to be polite? Lol! ) anyway Here’s to living each day to the fullest!”
The five-foot-nine supermodel, who was born on February 2, 1954, followed up with some photos of her looking fabulous by a pool and showing off her seemingly-flawless body in a one-piece swimsuit, sunglasses, and a white coverup.
Body Positivity Resources
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She wrote alongside a collection of photos, “This is 70 , and you’ve nothing to fear, Because you can make it your very own favorite year! It’s up to you, it’s in your power. To choose to celebrate, instead of cower. You know what to do, Exercise and eat right, use your sunblock and don’t sit under overhead lights!
“Be curious, explore and go on adventures, just don’t forget, to pack your dentures. Seriously, laugh and love with all your might …and I promise you 70 will be all right!”
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Brinkley—who is mom to 38-year-old Alexa Rae Joel, 25-year-old Sailor Brinkley Cook and 28-year-old Jack Brinkley-Cook—later shared some photos to conclude the good times she shared with her loved ones.
She also revealed that two of her children planned her surprise birthday party, something she’s incredibly grateful for.
“My happy birthday party was a blast! My kids Jack and Sailor planned it all to surprise me! (wish you could have come Alexa!)…” she wrote. “They even got the sunset to put on a show!
“My wonderful neighbors arrived with the most creative hand made gifts, that I’ll always cherish and my friends @danielbenedict and @cinemasociety surprised me when they arrived all the way from NYC wrapped in paper and ribbons by @gabbykaran as the gifts! We dined and danced under the stars. It was some enchanted evening!”
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Christie Brinkley’s Breast Cancer Scare
The Monroe, Michigan native, who resides in Sag Harbor on New York’s Long Island never had cancer, but she did experience a frightening breast cancer scare along with her mother.
Back in 1999, Brinkley told The Associated Press, “Both my mom and myself had scares, and thank goodness, neither of us had cancer. But those two incidents gave me just a little teeny glimpse of what it’s like to have the fear and the rush of emotions.”
The cancer scare inspired Brinkley’s introduction she wrote in a free children’s book, written by Laura Numeroff, called “Kids Talk,” from the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
“The book addresses those fears and explains breast cancer through cute illustrations and in words children can understand,” Brinkley said, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
View this post on Instagram
Coping With a Breast Cancer Diagnosis or Scare
Anxiety and fear are completely normal emotions to feel if you learn that you have breast cancer, or if you’ve had a breast cancer scare, like Christie Brinkley. It’s important to understand that acknowledging these emotions can be therapeutic and important to the healing process.
After you’ve learned you have breast cancer, how do you confront your fears without letting them take over entirely? SurvivorNet has some tips to help you cope.
1. Let your family and close friends know and let them help. So many cancer survivors tell us they want and need support but are often too preoccupied to make specific requests. Urge those close to you to jump in with whatever help they can offer.
2. Keep a journal. It can be extremely cathartic to let those feelings loose on paper. Grab a pen and a nice journal and chronicle your different thoughts throughout the day.
3. Join a cancer support group. There are support groups in nearly every community offering opportunities to connect with others going through a similar journey. You’ll learn incredibly helpful insight from others who can tell you about what to expect and how to stay strong on tough days.
4. Consider seeing a therapist. Ask your doctor to refer you to a therapist so you can discuss your fears and concerns in a safe space. Often, vocalizing your thoughts and feelings rather than internalizing them can provide relief.
Above all, just know that there are countless resources and support here for you whenever you need it.
Coping With Body Image Through Health Changes and Aging
Appreciating your body and all that it has accomplished is a beautiful thing, just as Christie Brinkley shows. We only get one body, and we’re partners with it for life. So, why not try to love the skin you’re in?
That being said, body positivity is easier said than done. And cancer survivors or women dealing with menopause may struggle more than others during or after their cancer journeys or body changes.
Celebrity Stylist Ann Caruso on Beauty and Femininity After Cancer
Take Ann Caruso, for example. She had 12 surgeries to treat her breast cancer and told SurvivorNet about how all of the changes really impacted the way she saw her body.
“You’re not the same carefree person that you once were, and it was very hard for me to look at myself every day,” Caruso said. “It was like I was a totally different person and didn’t fit into any of my clothes for so long.”
But time is a powerful healer. Looking back on her breast cancer experience has helped her redefine femininity and body image.
“Femininity is a state of mind,” Caruso said. “And I think that’s something that we have to remind ourselves.”
Another breast cancer survivor, Jaclyn Kaczynski, had a similar experience after her diagnosis at 37.
My Confidence Was Destroyed: Dealing With Body Image During Cancer Treatment
“My confidence was gone,” she told SurvivorNet. “My confidence was destroyed. I was always vain about my appearance and my weight, let alone losing a breast, or both.”
Some people find empowerment in going “flat” after losing their breasts to the disease, but Kaczynski found confidence in reconstruction. There’s no right or wrong answer for breast cancer survivors, but it’s important to consider all your options and go forward with whatever path is best for you.
“I just had my reconstructive surgery,” she said. “My favorite doctor was able to make it happen for me. It’s amazing how much more confidence I have within the past three weeks.”
Practicing Body Positivity and Self-Acceptance
If you struggle with self-perception and body image, you should try to look at yourself in a positive light despite how difficult it may be. By practicing body positivity, you can boost your emotional well-being.
WATCH: Accepting Yourself After Cancer
Dr. Marianna Strongin, a New York-based licensed clinical psychologist, also has some helpful advice. She encourages people that spending time in front of the mirror can help with body image.
Although “research has found that when looking in the mirror, we are more likely to focus on the parts of our body we are dissatisfied with,” which can cause “a negative self-view and lower self-esteem,” it’s important to look at the parts of your body that you love and the parts of your body that you don’t.
Eventually, Dr. Strongin says, doing so can help you create a more accepting relationship with yourself.
“Body image is both the mental picture that you have of your body and how you feel about your body when you look in a mirror,” she said. “As you allow yourself to spend more time looking at all of you, you will begin having a new relationship with your body.”
It’s important to remember there is no one definition of beauty, and following a health crisis, patients must learn to be proud of who they are and how far they’ve come inside and out.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you’re experiencing physical changes during your cancer journey, menopause, or simply aging, here are some questions you can consider asking your doctor:
- I am experiencing certain bodily changes. What exactly is causing them?
- Are there ways to manage or minimize these changes?
- I’m struggling to cope with the changes to my body. Is there someone I can talk to about it?
- Is there a social worker here who can help connect me with a therapist?
- What resources are available to help me find a local support group?
What to Know About Breast Cancer Screening
As for breast cancer screenings, a mammogram is the primary test doctors use to check for breast cancer. The wide consensus is that women should have annual mammograms between the ages of 45 and 54.
And while leading organizations like the American Cancer Society say women should have the option to begin annual screenings between 40 and 45, there is some disagreement among doctors as to whether this is beneficial.
For example, after saying for years that women shouldn’t begin mammograms until 50, an independent panel of experts called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recently changed their guidelines to say that women of average risk should begin at 40.
Dr. Connie Lehman, a diagnostic radiologist who specializes in breast cancer at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, says when you begin mammograms is a decision you should discuss with your doctor, as they can help you understand your specific circumstances and weigh the benefits and potential risks of earlier screening.
Your mammogram results may lead your doctor to recommend further testing with a diagnostic mammogram, ultrasound, or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). If these tests suggest changes that might be cancer, you’ll need a biopsy a test in which your doctor removes a small sample of tissue and has it checked for cancer in a lab.
Only a biopsy can confirm or rule out whether you have breast cancer.
Although it can be frightening to go through breast cancer testing, SurvivorNet’s doctors say not to fret. It’s possible for a biopsy to find that a lump is benign or not cancerous.
If you do receive a breast cancer diagnosis, you’ll learn what type of breast cancer you have and the stage of the disease. The stage means how far in your body the cancer has spread.
Though most breast cancers are not linked to inherited genetic mutations, knowing whether you have a mutation could affect the type of treatment you get. SurvivorNet experts recommend all women who are diagnosed with breast cancer be given genetic testing.
Based on your test results, preferences, and personal circumstances (such as your age), you and your doctor will make decisions about how to proceed with treatment, which we have plenty of expert resources on.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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