Cancer survivors get five star treatment

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – The smell of pressed hair and french manicures filled the room at Virginia College.

It was Cancer Survivor Day, so cancer survivors received complimentary services by the Cosmetology Department.

Dean Wanda Strayhan said Cancer Survivor Day is Virginia College’s way of giving back to the community.

“I love to see the fact that our students are community service minded and they’re using their craft to make someone feel special,” Strayhan said.

Marry Harris, a breast cancer survivor, was diagnosed with the disease in 2004. She said she was scared.

“I panicked. I became afraid of the word disease because I never had cancer before,” Harris said.

She struggled with accepting that she had cancer, but she didn’t allow herself to give up.

“I realized cancer, to me, is like a virus, like a cold or something like that so you get it treated,”she said. “It’s a battle. You either give in or you fight it.”

Harris said she believes all survivors should pamper themselves. They should celebrate their victory over cancer.

“Don’t have to be stuck in, oh I’m a breast cancer survivor or I’m a cancer survivor. Forget that. That’s in the past. It says survivor. Do something for yourself,”she said.

Strayhan said Cancer Survivor Day is special to her.

“The fact that they [survivors] can come in and feel pampered and to know that someone really cares about their journey, that’s what’s special to me,” Strayhan said.

Harris said she pampers herself often. She calls her pamper days, “beauty days”.

She said she is grateful for surviving because many people die from cancer daily.

“I always priase the Lord, give thanks for everyday that I wake up, that I am a breast cancer survivor,” Harris said.