Favorite Mayo Clinic Stories of 2017: Makeover Is Good Medicine for Young Cancer Patient #ThrowbackThursday

By Alyssa Frank • March 1, 2018

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Each year, Mayo Clinic's In the Loop blog looks back and shares some favorite stories of the year gone by. Here is the third of 17 stories from 2017. Be sure to check back each week for the next story.

Makeover Is Good Medicine for Young Cancer Patient
As a professional makeup artist, Adrian Rios is used to working in a variety of settings—from fashion shows and speaking events to photoshoots and television interviews. But one day last month, he set up shop in a rather unusual place, even for him: a waiting room outside the Proton Beam Therapy Program on Mayo Clinic's Arizona campus.

Adrian was there to meet Clarissa Sanchez, a 15-year-old beauty and fashion enthusiast receiving treatment for Hodgkin's lymphoma. It had been a while since Clarissa had much to smile about, and Rosie Lerma, a Patient Experience Coordinator at Mayo, hoped a makeover might change that. After learning about Clarissa's love of makeup, Rosie reached out to Adrian—who happens to be her son—and asked him to take on this very special assignment.

When Clarissa saw the results of Adrian's heartfelt handiwork, her beautiful smile returned in a big way. "I had been going through so much insecurity due to the fact that I had lost all of my hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes," she tells us. "I felt so beautiful for the first time in months. The makeover truly uplifted my spirits and made me so happy."

Watch the makeover in process below:

Alyssa Frank

Alyssa Frank is a Marketing Segment Manager at Mayo Clinic Laboratories. She leads marketing strategies for product management and specialty testing. Alyssa has worked at Mayo Clinic since 2015.