IMPROVING CANCER PATIENTS’ QUALITY OF LIFE
THROUGH BEAUTY AND WELLNESS THERAPY
A L’Oréal Foundation study confirms the benefits
Clichy, France, 12 June 2018 – A new study conducted by the L’Oréal Foundation among 1,166 people
touched by cancer has demonstrated the benefits of beauty and wellness therapy for patients’ quality oflife. It also highlights the fact that too few patients know about the existence of these therapies and too
few benefit from them. Through partnerships formed with hospitals, associations and scientificinstitutions, the L’Oréal Foundation is taking action to enable as many patients as possible to accessthese beauty and wellness therapies and to professionalize this discipline.

Improving cancer patients’ quality of life
The number of cancer cases is growing, and while the effectiveness of treatments is increasing, it isimportant not to overlook the side effects of these therapies, some of which last for many years.
“Considered as a real life-giving force by these patients, whose bodies are attacked by the illness, thetreatments or surgery, beauty and wellness therapies help patients to face the side effects of treatments
and the upset caused to their self-image,” explains Alexandra Palt, Executive Vice President of theL’Oréal Foundation.
These aforementioned therapies are offered in hospitals or dedicated city centre facilities by speciallytrained beauticians. Organised individually or through group workshops, these precious moments bring
together beauty treatments (such as facials, manicures and pedicures, massages, make-up), technicaladvice, an opportunity to be listened to and a moment of relaxation.
A ground-breaking study conducted by the L’Oréal Foundation in 2017 among 1,166 cancer patientshas made it possible to analyse the impact of beauty and wellness treatments on patients’ quality of life.
The most important benefit mentioned by participating patients is receiving useful beauty techniques
and advice to manage the undesirable effects of treatments (noted by 86% of respondents).
Experiencing a moment of relaxation and physical and psychological wellbeing appears as the second
most important contribution (according to 84% of beneficiaries).

Part of the supportive care ecosystem
Beauty and wellness therapies are recognised by the French National Cancer Institute (INCa) and its
Cancer Plan program as ‘cancer supportive care’, meaning that they form part of the whole package oftreatment and support necessary for people suffering with the disease, alongside their medicaltreatment. With this respect, they fall within the framework of the French Speaking Society for SupportiveCare (AFSOS).
“Beauty and wellness therapy plays a fundamental role in the course of therapy, as it contributes torestoring patients’ physical and psychological integrity, and to humanizing their medical care and helping
them feel themselves again,” says Dr Mahasti Saghatchian, oncologist at Gustave Roussy andAmerican Hospital of Paris.
“Some medical treatments can have dermatological or cosmetic consequences, which can lead to a
deterioration in patients’ body image, and often therefore in their spirits. Integrating beauty and wellness
therapy into the course of care and into the multi-disciplinary team offers precious support,” explains
Professor Ivan Krakowski, oncologist at the Bergonié Institute and President of AFSOS.

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Expanding access to more people
While beauty and wellness therapies can significantly improve cancer patients’ quality of life, the study
reveals that more than 1 in 4 patients did not even know they existed and the L’Oréal Foundation
estimates than less than 5% have access to them.
In response to this finding, the L’Oréal Foundation is taking action to bring its beauty and wellness
therapies to hospitals and to different city center facilities, in order to enable as many people as possible(in France, for the moment) to access them.
In 2017, thanks to the partnerships developed by the L’Oréal Foundation with hospital facilities, such asUnicancer, and associations, like the Rose Association, 48 cancer facilities offered beauty and wellness
therapy free of charge, helping 13 500 people suffering from cancer in France.
“We want to support patients throughout their illness, in order to improve their wellbeing, care for their
physical appearance and help them restore their self-esteem. Our ambition, together with the L’Oréal
Foundation, is to improve access to beauty and wellness therapy within our Comprehensive CancerCenters. Today, only 8 to 10% of patients have been able to access them. Through this partnership, wehope that 30% will benefit from them in the future, three times more than today. Of course, in the longterm, we hope that all our patients will be able to benefit from beauty and wellness therapy,” says
Pascale Flamant, General Delegate of Unicancer.
About the L’Oréal Foundation
To play its part in working towards a more inclusive world, the L’Oréal Foundation has supported twoworthy causes since 2007: inclusive beauty and empowering women in science.
Convinced that beauty sits at the heart of the process of self-reconstruction and contributes to social
inclusion, the L’Oréal Foundation, through its Beauty for a Better Life programme, develops free,outstanding training programs for beauty professionals in order to help people made vulnerable by life’s
misfortunes. It also brings beauty and wellness therapy to medical and social institutions to support
people suffering physically, psychologically or socially.
Through the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science programme, the L’Oréal Foundation supports
and promotes women who advance scientific understanding, helping to give them the place they
deserve in scientific research.
About Unicancer
Unicancer is a unique hospital network in France, 100% dedicated to the fight against cancer. It is thecountry’s only national hospital federation dedicated to oncology, gathering 18 French Comprehensive
Cancer Centres (FCCCs). These are private, non-profit health establishments distributed through 20
hospital sites in France. The Centers care for more than 516,000 patients annually (short stay, homecare and those outside hospital care).
Unicancer is also the foremost academic sponsor of clinical trials in cancer across Europe. Recognised
as a research leader in France, the Unicancer network benefits from a global reputation, producing athird of international oncology publications (source: Thomson Reuters bibliometric study). In total, 569
clinical trials (referrals or aftercare) were promoted by the Unicancer network in 2017, more than 15%
patients at the Centers were included in the clinical trials, and more than half of hospital clinical research
programs were assigned to the Centers.
About the Rose Association
The Rose Association is an association (recognized as being in the public interest) founded by patientsand their loved ones. Its goal is to inform, support and defend the rights of people suffering from cancer.
The association edits a free, upmarket biannual magazine, Rose Magazine, aimed at women touchedby cancer.
On 1 February 2016, Rose created the Maison Rose (the Rose House), which welcomes all women who
are affected by cancer, during and after treatments, free of charge. This house is unprecedented in
France and sets itself apart through the essence of its creation – to transform the Rose Magazine intoa house and thereby rediscover its DNA (femininity during cancer). Since opening its doors, the Maison
Rose has welcomed more than 6,000 patients. The association is also involved in representing patients’rights to public authority.

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Follow us on Twitter @LOrealCommittedAbout AFSOSFounded in 2008, the French Speaking Society for Supportive Care (AFSOS) is an academic society
and a scientific association. It is both multi-disciplinary and multi-professional, and its vocation is to serveas an interface and a link between oncology professionals and those who specialise in diverse types ofsupportive care. The association’s goals are to pool treatments, research and training, and to innovate
within the field of supportive care. The research of excellence in the care of cancer symptoms, support
throughout every stage of the illness, and initiatives within teams both in and outside of hospitals
constitute its founding principles.

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