Deidre Ferenc faced what most would call a very unfortunate event: she went through cancer, a hysterectomy, and chemo. Yet, her mindset isn’t that of an “unlucky” person. Rather, she treasures every day!

Deidre kindly shared some of her inspiration with us to help us all feel better about ourselves and our lives.

Going into Menopause Without Warning

When having a full hysterectomy, Deidre went into menopause overnight. We’re working on another article this month about how menopause affects the mind and that, in and of itself, is mindblowing—many women really don’t have an easy time of it.

Add cancer onto that, and it’s not a walk in the park—quite the opposite.

“After going through chemo and a full hysterectomy putting me into menopause I noticed my skin became much dryer, [and] I also broke out a lot more.”

In other words, Deidre didn’t just face chemo, and surgery, but also menopause. While there are plenty of things you can do to keep your brain and body happy and healthy during menopause, it’s not so easy to do those things when you’re also facing the side effects of chemo.

And yet, our June Surthriver stayed positive.

The Mindset of Mavericks

You might think of a maverick as someone who goes out and does something incredible, like inventing a new fashion trend, or starting an unconventional business. But isn’t someone who stays focused on what they have instead of what they don’t when facing adversity also something of a maverick?

We think so.

Deidre told us,

“I have realized that beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder. I look at my body and see changes and scars, but I still value it for all it's been through.”

When you look at yourself in the mirror, do you see someone who’s been scarred, or is scarred because they conquered? Do you thank your body for carrying you through this far?

Why Mindset Matters When Facing Cancer and Life in General

So many of our Chemo Warriors and cancer surthrivers have inspired us with their big hearts and positive outlooks, just like Diedre. Even when they’ve been sad, upset, downright furious, and frightened, they’ve powered through and managed to find glimpses of beauty and light after each dark night.

Deidre’s advice to others is,

“To really do whatever they can to keep a positive mindset because mindset matters!"

So does attitude affect the outcome of cancer?

There doesn’t seem to be any definitive conclusions around this, but your mindset appears to affect how you feel during treatment and after. What’s more, a good mindset can help you deal with issues that might arise during treatment.

What seemed to have a direct impact on longevity, was having support. And this was not necessarily the support of friends or family—it could be a supportive nurse, or joining a support group. These days, even Facebook groups can offer support, so don’t hesitate to reach out. (1)

We also stumbled across studies that showed that when facing heart disease, those with a positive outlook are much more likely to survive and less likely to have complications after surgical procedures. (2)

And in her TEDtalk, psychologist Kelly McGonigal reveals that those who think stress will affect them adversely are much more likely to get sick or even pass away after going through extreme stress. Those who don’t think so have no issues whatsoever after a stressful episode in their life! (3)

In short, with the right attitude and the right support, your quality of life increases no matter what you’re facing.

Whether it increases longevity or not can be debated, but you will feel better throughout your life if you have the ability to look for the silver lining, or simply on the bad days, remember that tomorrow you will be able to appreciate life again.

That’s not to say you don’t have doubts, aren’t scared, sad, or downright furious at times, it just means that you keep bringing your focus back to the good stuff.

And that’s where having a support system comes in—when you can’t seem to see the sun for all the clouds, having your neighbor, nurse, friend, or partner pop by or message you with a kind word is worth gold.

Deidre’s Take on Prime Products

We’re all proud and grateful for having lived the years we have, and the scars and wrinkles that bear testament, but that doesn’t mean we don’t want to look our best as that tends to make us feel the best!

As always we’re beyond grateful that Chemo Warriors like Deidre choose our products—and see a drastic difference when using them.

Here’s what Deidre has to say:

“The mascara makes my lashes look so long (and even with no other makeup on, wearing mascara just makes me feel better), and I love the color of the blush [PrimeWand]. I struggle with eye liner and this is the easiest eyeliner I've ever applied.”

Each Prime product she mentions has a story and a purpose.

Women over 50 struggle the most (emotionally) when they start to lose their eyelashes.

Viola -- we created PrimeLash Mascara .. known the world over to improve the quality of thinning, mature lashes.

Who doesn’t dislike the kiss of pallor? Add back much needed zest for life -- with our range of skin-loving, perfectly pigmented PrimeWands that are your entire make-up bag in a stick.

Eyeliners don’t need to exit your beauty routine.

Not when they glide on glistening like butter and race over wrinkled lids for definition and lift. PrimeEyes Glide saw the light of day to bring the oomph of liquid eyeliners in a convenient pencil.

Helping all queens look their very best… silver or warrior.