Reclaiming Confidence After Cancer Treatment
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Written by Anj Periyasamy
Being diagnosed with breast cancer at 37, with two children under five, completely
changed the way I saw myself and my body.
As a South Asian woman, losing my hair during chemotherapy felt especially difficult.
In our culture, long, thick hair is often associated with femininity, beauty and health. Watching that part of myself disappear while also navigating surgery, treatment-
induced menopause and the physical changes that cancer brings left me feeling
frightened, vulnerable and disconnected from my body.
Cancer treatment changes you physically, but it also changes the way you see
yourself.
Learning to Face the Changes
One of the hardest parts of treatment was knowing my children would witness every
stage of it alongside me. I didn’t want fear to become the centre of our story, so I
tried to focus on recovery, resilience and finding small ways to feel like myself again.
Some days that meant drawing my eyebrows back on. Other days it meant finding
soft headscarves and breathable fabrics that made me feel comfortable during the
summer months. As my hair slowly began to grow back, regular trims helped me
regain confidence and feel more like me again.
These may sound like small things, but during treatment, small things matter
enormously.
I realised that confidence after cancer doesn’t always arrive naturally. Sometimes
you have to gently rebuild it, one step at a time.
Body Confidence After Cancer
There were difficult conversations within our family about scars, fatigue, hair loss and
the changes treatment had brought to my body. But over time, I stopped trying to
hide.
I still attended family events. I still showed up.
As a physiotherapist, advocating for health has always been important to me, but
cancer made it deeply personal. Within many South Asian communities, conversations around cancer can still feel taboo, and I wanted to help change that - not only for myself, but for my daughters and other women who may feel afraid or alone.
The more openly I spoke about my experience, the more I realised confidence is not
about looking exactly the same as before cancer. It is about learning to feel comfortable, strong and worthy in the version of yourself that exists now.
Finding Comfort in Rituals and Self-Care
While losing my hair was incredibly emotional, my family rallied around me. My
sister, who is a hairdresser, and my brother, an Ayurvedic practitioner, helped me
reconnect with the traditions I grew up with.
Hair oiling has always been part of our culture. I have vivid memories of my mother
and grandmothers massaging oils into our scalp and hair as a form of love, care,
nourishment and connection.
During recovery, that ritual became something much more meaningful for me.
Together, we developed Samsara Oil - a scalp oil inspired by traditional Indian hair
oiling practices, blended with carefully selected essential and carrier oils known to
support scalp health and nourish sensitive skin during regrowth.
More than anything, it became part of my healing process. A moment of calm. A way
to reconnect with myself. A reminder that recovery is not only physical, but emotional
too.
“Samsara” means rebirth in Sanskrit, which felt incredibly fitting for this chapter of my
life.
Recovery after cancer can feel overwhelming at times, but I’ve learnt that rebuilding confidence often begins with the smallest acts of self-care, compassion and connection to ourselves again.
Written by Anj Periyasamy
Clinical Specialist Physiotherapist & Apos Therapist
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