DCIS test helps filter at-risk patients.

a Harris Interactive survey of 1,226 women found that 70% of program participants felt more in control of their appearances after doing the program, compared with just 60% of those who didn't do the program. Seventy-six percent of participants were more confident in how they looked, compared with 59% among nonparticipant patients. Those are good results, Massie continued , given that people's confidence tends to drop with a cancer diagnosis: The same survey showed the 77% of women felt confident in their appearances before treatment, compared with only 55% afterward. " This is a disease that takes so many things away, " said Massie. " It's nice to be able to give something back. " Recreating Normalcy The program gave Nancy Lumb of Chevy Chase, Md., a sense of normalcy. " It's pretty easy to put on a wig, but if you don't have eyebrows, you're not fooling anyone, " she said. " Learning how to recreate a natural eyebrow especially when you are going out. .. is being able to just be normal for a night. " Lumb saw ads for the program in the room where she received her first chemother-apy treatment, shortly after her diagnosis. " I was 40, and the idea of looking different was terrifying, " she said. " I didn't cry when they told me I had cancer, or when I told my husband and mother. But I cried when I lost my hair. " Lumb said that keeping up her appearances has helped her heal faster. " There's a lot of stuff happening around you, and being able to hold onto yourself allows for faster and better healing, " she said. Lumb also wanted to keep her illness private, and the program helped her do that. " I work in a building with 1,500 people. I didn't want to explain to 1,500 people what I was going through, " she explained. " Nobody knew when I transitioned to my wig, and no one knew I had fake eyebrows. " Global Reach Since then, 16,000 workshops have taken place, with formal programs now in 2,800 medical centers across the U.S. It also conducts online workshops for women in remote areas, and the program has affiliates in 24 countries and has helped an estimated 1.2 million women, said rouark. although most participants are women, workshops are also available specifically for men and teenagers. The program …