A 17 year old teen with cancer did a fairy tale photoshoot to inspire other people going through chemotherapy.
When you’re a teenager your biggest problems are supposed to be finding a date, learning how to drive, and avoiding cyber bullying on social media. Andrea Sierra Salazar had a much different experience when she was diagnosed with cancer, specifically a stage 2 nodular sclerosis Hodgkin lymphoma, at the age of 17.
Salazar had to miss a lot of school for chemotherapy, and the loss of her hair hit her especially hard, affecting her confidence. Since she had always been into modeling in the past, Salazar’s mom, Adriana, reached out to several modeling agencies, and they decided to do a photoshoot to boost her confidence and inspire others. This teen with cancer wasn’t backing down from the fight to feel beautiful, normal, and strong.
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Andrea shared the photos on twitter stating, “Cancer doesn’t stop me from being a princess,” and decided not to wear a wig to show that inner beauty is the most important thing.
Heidi Doctor, a retired teacher who survived chemotherapy for glassy cell carcinoma cervical cancer shared, “Chemo affects people in a lot of different ways, and holding onto self-esteem and confidence is very difficult. Personally, I always worried about my weight, until I went through chemotherapy, lost a significant amount of weight, and realized that it didn’t matter how I looked, because I was still alive.’
Doctor was able to beat the cancer, but has to wear a compression stocking for the rest of her life. She takes it in stride though, and is happy not only to be alive, but that her outlook has changed.
“As unfortunate as it is, sometimes it takes something like cancer to change the way you perceive self-beauty. I applaud what Andrea did, and I bet there are a lot of kids and adults out there that look up to her.”
As you can see from the photos, Salazar looks stunning, and totally achieved the princess look she was going for, and has proven that you can look and feel beautiful no matter what circumstances life throws your way, even if you’re a teen with cancer fighting for your life.
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