Jill Martin says she’s getting an “ambush makeover” as she tries on wigs after chemotherapy hair loss.
The award-winning TV personality, who was diagnosed with stage two breast cancer earlier this year, told her followers she lost her eyelashes and eyebrows just a few weeks into treatment. She also revealed that she has four more chemotherapy treatments left.
On Wednesday, Martin, 47, explained on Instagram stories that she was getting a makeover which included her getting her eyelashes done and finding a wig.
“I will be dressed up as me,” Martin said. “I’m excited. I feel like I want to feel like myself.”
After sharing her excitement and journey with fans, in another video, Martin appeared teary-eyed while wearing a blond wig that looked similar to her hair before her chemo treatment.
A teary-eyed Jill opens up— (Jill Martin Instagram )
Martin added: “So my friend Andrew helped me. This looks just like me, right?”
“It’s hard. I feel like I could style it myself. It’s fun. It’s like playing dress-up. I’m dressing up as myself,” she said.
In another clip, Martin shows the selection of wigs she could choose from. In the background, she speaks about how “really hard and strange” the whole process was and reiterated how she framed the experience as a time to “play dress up.”
Martin lost her eyelashes and eyebrows just a few weeks into treatment— (Jill Martin Instagram )
Martin also thanked her followers for their support and said she was feeling “better”.
The Today contributor, has been undergoing treatment since August and revealed that during her journey she has undergone a double mastectomy, had 17 lymph nodes removed and endured an aggressive chemotherapy regimen.
In an effort to preserve her hair, she has also tried cold-capping - a procedure that freezes the blood vessels in the scalp, reducing the amount of chemotherapy drugs that get into follicles.
Speaking to Today in October, Martin said: "At the beginning, I (was) like, I’ll just shave my head. And for some people, that is their journey and that’s soothing for them. I’m not a big makeup person. (My hair) has always been something that makes me feel like myself.”
Martin has been open with the ups and downs of her journey and on 23 November she shared some reflections on what she’d been through.
“Not quite sure how to express my gratitude,” she wrote on Instagram.
She continued: “Not enough words. I hold two strong emotions very tight that often are not held together. I am grateful that I caught my cancer early enough to be able to treat it and that chemotherapy helped me fight it- I am still shocked this whole thing happened.
“I am grateful I got to ring the bell with all my might after finishing this part of my journey. I am grateful I get to be with my family today.”
In the post, Martin also shared that she would be honouring her mother, who was able to “beat this disease” but added: “my grandmother who we lost to it and to all those who fought and are continuing to fight this battle.”
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, except for skin cancers, according to The American Cancer Society.
