She’s a Hairdresser and Breast Cancer Survivor: ‘The Hardest Part ... was Losing My Hair’

As a hairdresser for more than 30 years and a “very private person,” Gabriele Bauer, 50, had her life dramatically change when she was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma, the most common type of breast cancer.
After fighting the disease, the mother of three started giving back to the community, using her hairdressing skills to help other cancer patients feel and look their best during their difficult path to recovery.
Ms. Bauer found out she had cancer after a routine mammogram screening in 2018. “When I first heard I had cancer, I was in shock. I was scared,” she recalls. “I had three kids; I am a young woman; I was working; for me it was like - this is it, this is the end.”
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[TRANSCRIPT]
Gabriele Bauer:
My name is Gabriele Bauer. I'm 50 years old. I'm from Germany and I am married to my husband Andreas. I have sweet children, Angelina, Annabelle, [Anderson 00:00:18]. And I'm a hairdresser for a little bit over 30 years. I love animals. I love rescuing animals. And I love life.
I found out I had cancer when I went in 2018 for my annual mammogram. They found spots on my right breast.
Dr. Joseph Colletta:
Then because of her young age and density of her breast, an ultrasound was performed, which found an additional cancer in the same breast.
Gabriele Bauer:
When I first heard that I had cancer, I was in shock. I was scared. I had three kids, I mean, I'm a young woman, I was working. I mean, for me, it was kind of like, this is it, this is the end.
Dr. Joseph Colletta:
Biologically, it was not that aggressive, which was a good sign for her. But it turned out that she did have involvement of the cancer in her axillary lymph nodes. Because of the involvement of her lymph nodes, she underwent what we call a bilateral nipple-sparing mastectomy. She had the left side done also because she had the BRCA mutation. So she was at a markedly elevated risk for developing breast cancer in the future. She had a rough course after the operation because she needed chemotherapy, and then after that, she needed radiation.
Gabriele Bauer:
The hardest part of my treatment, going through chemo, being a hairdresser and a very private person, was me losing hair. I felt very alone and didn't want really people to recognize. Tried to find the right wig, looking exactly like my hair did. And that was just very, very difficult to overcome. And that lead me to the Lynn Cancer Institute Be U Tiful Program.
Darci McNally:
The Be U Tiful Program is a specialized program to really focus, to support patients on image and appearance. We really play on the words beautiful, but really be you. And so we provide makeup and cosmetics, and skincare, and hair coverings, and wigs, to patients going through treatment to help them feel like the best version of themselves
Gabriele Bauer:
Being part of the Be U Tiful Program is very, very comforting and rewarding, since I did not feel like I'm alone. We don't even share also just about makeup and hair, we also share each other's journey, struggle we have, which we all can kind of leave a little bit more comfortable after this program.
Darci McNally:
Gabby Bauer is a prior patient of ours and she got involved because she participated in the program. And as soon as she was well and done with her treatment, her desire was to give back.
Gabriele Bauer:
I started to collect lightly used wigs from patients who've been through the chemo process and now are not in need of them, to offer to patients, complimentary, to find their color, their style, their haircut wig, and put it on them. And to give my time for the Be U Tiful Program at the Lynn Cancer Institute.
Dr. Joseph Colletta:
Community outreach programs that we have at the cancer center, I think, are optimal and have a lot to do with the positive outlook that the patients have in combating their malignancies.
Gabriele Bauer:
I was scared, I was devastated, and I was allowed to do that. And then I turned a switch, and the moment you turn the switch and you fight, you find strength that you never thought you had in yourself, and you're going to beat it.