Meet Lisa Lurie | Survivor, Patient Advocate & Co-founder, Cancer Be Glammed

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lisa Lurie and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lisa, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
Cancer Be Glammed was born out of my own struggles to restore my body-confidence and self-esteem after my treatment for breast cancer. At age forty-seven, I was diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer. Within two weeks, I underwent a double mastectomy (without reconstruction) and chemotherapy. In a very short period of time, I became bald, breast-less and bloated from steroids. It was soul destroying. Not just for me but for my family as well. I felt like a cancer-created Humpty-Dumpty. I didn’t know how to put myself back together again.

Throughout my treatment, I was fortunate to have had an excellent Oncology team but there was very little information and support to help me cope with the non-medical, lifestyle challenges of surgery and treatment. This included body disfigurement, hair loss, weight gain, skin issues and treatment-induced premature menopause. When I recovered, I became determined to help other women to have a better recovery experience than I did. Women coping with all forms of cancer.

I joined forces with a dear friend of mine and together we co-founded Cancer Be Glammed. The first lifestyle company for women that focused on educating and empowering them to recover with dignity, positive self-esteem and personal style. Over the past twelve years, Cancer Be Glammed has grown from the spark of an idea to a company with global reach. Our multi-tiered platform includes our website, www.cancerbeglammmed.com, CBG-TV, our dedicated YouTube channel and informative print materials like Cancer Be Glammed:The Guide, “Take Charge of Your Recovery with Confidence, Self-Esteem and Style.”

The response to Cancer Be Glammed has been tremendous. Not just from the patients and survivors that we support but from the Oncology Community as well. I have become a relentless advocate working to ensure that women can recover from cancer as “people not patients.”

Entrepreneurs often talk about “turning passion into purpose.” This is true for me. I am a survivor-entrepreneur, passionate about educating and empowering women with all forms of cancer to have a well informed, better-prepared and life-made-easier recovery.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
One of the biggest lessons that I have learned from having cancer and from Co-founding my company, Cancer Be Glammed twelve years ago, is that life (and business) is not a straight line. During my treatment and recovery for Breast Cancer, at times I would encounter setbacks physically and emotionally. It was often hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel while living with an uncertain future or outcome. I had to force myself to learn how to handle difficult situations in “manageable chunks” as I like to say and learn to embrace a “one step at a time” philosophy.

I Co-founded Cancer Be Glammed because I recognized from my own experiences that women patients and survivors needed better information, lifestyle support and access to practical-yet-stylish recovery products to help them to be better prepared for the appearance-related and lifestyle impact of surgery and treatment. I joined forces with a dear friend of mine, Ellen Weiss Kander and together we launched our unique lifestyle recovery company, Cancer Be Glammed.

From the start we had challenges to overcome. We were not computer literate beyond the basic functions, we had never run an e-commerce business and we were busy raising young families. We had to rely on ourselves and believe in our ability to learn, our passion (drive) and to be flexible. In addition, we were smart enough to know to ask for help when we needed it!

Two years after we launched, Ellen passed away from Liver Cancer. Her death almost broke me. She was fifty years old and left behind her husband and three children. It was very tempting to pull the plug on Cancer Be Glammed. I didn’t want to continue on without her. But– walking away from what we started and believed in did not feel like an option either. A few weeks later, I dried my tears, flipped open my computer and got back to work. I had to remind myself (often!) that I could do this–make a difference in the lives of women coping with cancer if I focused on building our company and cancer community–one step at a time. (Manageable goals and benchmarks).

2022 marks the 12th anniversary of Cancer Be Glammed. This is what sets us apart and in the light of many challenges including personally, professionally and financially, that I am very proud of:

• CBG is the premier cancer “lifestyle” recovery company that informs, empowers, supports and advocates for women coping with all forms of cancer.

• CBG is a one-stop, comprehensive recovery resource/solution utilizing a multi-tiered platform designed to give women easy access to informative and authentic content and to practical-yet-fashionable recovery products. Content includes blogs, videos, guides, free downloadable tip sheets featuring topics like, “What to Wear to Chemo,” and advice and lifestyle solutions from a dynamic community of patients, survivors and relevant experts.

• On Cancerbeglammed.com, women and their supporters can shop our “Life & Style” Recovery e-Boutique for “best-in-class” post-op, treatment and recovery apparel and accessories, skincare, and specialty clothing for women recovering from surgeries like mastectomies and ostomies. In addition, our Gift-Her collection features survivor-selected gifts that a woman will use and enjoy.

•An important part of Cancer Be Glammed’s mission is to support and promote survivor-founded or inspired companies with a similar mission to ours. We have already partnered with over 17 survivor companies in our Recovery e-Boutique. Many of these are women-owned, small businesses. This effort is ongoing.

•We collaborate and consult with the healthcare community and oncology professionals particularly nurses, navigators and social workers to provide support and educational tools to patients struggling with the psychosocial effects of cancer.

• In 2019, CBG partnered with another survivor company, Wrapped In Love to conduct a unique “Life & Style” Survey to better identify the non-medical, lifestyle needs and wants of women with all forms of cancer. Over 870 women responded. This data informs our content and product mix and helps us to better serve our users.

Working in the cancer world brings its own set of unique challenges but it is also meaningful, heartfelt, impacting work. Yes, life is not a straight line. I no longer expect that but I am determined to continue on Cancer Be Glammed’s path, stepping over stones to continue walking, no– running ahead.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Pittsburgh is a great city with plenty to do! This may come as a surprise to first-time visitors but not to the people who return often or who live here. Here are my top 5 suggestions of must-do’s.

1. Phipps Conservatory–beautiful botanical indoor and outdoor flowers and gardens. Very unique, these gardens were donated by Henry Phipps to the city in 1893. Save room for lunch at their cafe. (Yum!)

2. The Andy Warhol Museum–Pittsburgh is the birthplace of Andy Warhol and this museum in his honor features his many works and styles. Love it!

3. Eat an iconic Pittsburgh sandwich at Primanti Brothers. Primanti’s sandwiches combine meats, cheeses, coleslaw, tomatoes and french fries stuffed between two slices of thick Italian Bread. You will have bragging rights!

4. Sip late night cocktails at The Summit, a bar on top of Mt. Washington. The view is fantastic–with much of Pittsburgh laid out at your feet.

5. If roller coasters and amusement parks are your thing then you won’t want to miss Kennywood Park. Filled with everything that you would expect from a great amusement park–tons of rides, food, and fun, you can still ride and scream on one of the last remaining wooden roller coasters, The Jack Rabbit.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to give a very big, extra-large Shoutout to my husband and best friend, Brian Lurie. Brian was my rock during my surgery and treatment for Breast Cancer. He immersed himself in my recovery and he made sure that our two young daughters, Michelle and Gillian continued to be well-cared for, carpooled and fed! He was the one who held my hand and dried my fearful tears in the middle of the night. When I told Brian that my dream was to help other women to have a better recovery experience, he supported my Co-founding Cancer Be Glammed and he is integral to its success today. He is the man behind the woman and I am forever grateful to have him (and our beautiful daughters) in my life.

Website: https://cancerbeglammed.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cancerbeglammed/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cancerbeglammed/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CancerBeGlammed

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CancerBeGlammed?fref=ts

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLGHhbTCcYGrED__CkpUHqg