MS PELITA Goh's world changed on April 22 last year.
That was her husband's birthday, and also the day she found out she had breast cancer.
The 47-year-old former spa manager first discovered a lump in her right breast in December, 2007.
Since then, she had been on an emotional roller-coaster ride.
It took a workshop, involving powder puffs and blusher, to lead her out of the darkness of despair.
The workshop, Look Good Feel Better (LGFB), aims to lift the spirits of women cancer patients simply by helping them to look good.
The women are taught the finer points of using make-up, basic skincare, and techniques for wearing and maintaining their wigs.
The programme, which was first started in the United States, was founded here in 1997 by a group of volunteer
nurses. It came under the auspices of Singapore Cancer Society (SCS) in 2002.
SCS told my paper that it holds the three-hour workshop at least once a month, and up to 15 are organised every year.
Corporate sponsors like Estee Lauder, LuxAsia and The Body Shop chip in with cosmetic products, skincare items and wigs.
Recalling when she was told she had breast cancer, Ms Goh said: "The information did not sink in. I didn't know what to feel."
She had a mastectomy - a surgical procedure that removes a woman's breast - and had the breast replaced with a
silicone implant.
However, Ms Goh's body rejected the implant, forcing her to go through another operation to have it removed.
Also, like many cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy, her skin turned sallow and her hair fell out.
She cried when her 11-year old son said, "Mum, you look like an alien", the first time he saw her bald.
But she vowed to be strong.
"I cry only when I talk to loved ones about it. Every day, I thank God for another day," she said.
She knows some cancer patients who are dismissive of the workshop.
"They say, 'Why are you asking me to put on make-up when I'm fighting for my life?' But they don't realise that when you feel good, you start to heal," she said.
"When you're battling cancer, you want to feel as normal as possible. We must fight back; we can't lie down and roll over," she said.
LGFB is offered at six hospitals including Changi General Hospital, Gleneagles Hospital and National University Hospital.
