Beauty waits for no one

It's the morning of Karen's surgery. Surgery is scheduled for 1:30 pm and we have a two hour drive to Philadelphia to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP). But for Karen, beauty is always the number one priority. For Karen, a good beauty regimen is the start (and end) of any day. And the morning of surgery to excise a cancerous tumor and a chunk of her breast tissue is no exception. On a day when make-up is hardly necessary and the condition of your hair will matter little under a hair net, Karen decides that a mini-facial is a good idea. Well, at least she's not showing too many signs of anxiety....yet.

Beauty and appearance will surely be a recurring topic in the coming weeks and months. Not because I place a high importance on them (OK, maybe just a little bit), but because Karen does (and cancer is about to collide head on with vanity in just a matter of weeks). It's only fitting then that Karen has kicked off her trip to surgery with a good exfoliation and a moisturizing mask. Thankfully, she'll be blemish-free and have clean pores as she greets her doctors and nurses in the OR.