The G.O.O.D.S. Magazine Winter 2014 | Page 21

The GOODS Magazine: What is the name of your salon? How did you cope with the decision to have the Mastectomy? Michel Sproles: My salon is called 7 Image. It is located at 6050 Mission Gorge Road, San Diego CA 92120 I coped well because I knew this was the best decision for me to make sure I am around for my husband and kids and to have peace of mind. What was your vision when establishing 7image? When establishing 7 Image, I wanted to create a beautiful space that people would be proud to come visit. My goal is to make each guest feel special while receiving personalized service tailored to fit their individual needs. I want each guest to feel beautiful both inside and out. Beauty starts from within and it’s important for our guest to know that.  What made you want to pursue business as a career choice and why beauty? I’ve always wanted to start my own business so I can be in control of my career and potential earnings. I also love to make people feel beautiful both inside and out. How did you find out you had DCIS? I noticed a thickening in my breast while doing a routine breast exam on myself at home.  Does breast cancer run in your family? No. Breast cancer does not run in my family and I am BRCA Negative so I’m not carrying a mutated gene.  When you were diagnosed and decided to have your double mastectomy what thoughts and emotions overwhelmed you most? I have always been a confident woman so what overwhelmed me the most was wanting to make sure that I was still comfortable with my body after the surgery. What was Darren’s reaction to your diagnosis and decision to go ahead with the double mastectomy? Darren was extremely supportive and in fact encouraged the double mastectomy so we could have peace of mind and not worry about this in our future. If you had to offer advice or words of wisdom to someone newly diagnosed, what would it be? Allow yourself the time to mentally process your diagnosis, then begin to educate yourself about the disease and make sure to stay off the internet. Not all internet websites are regulated and you can receive false information and unnecessarily scare yourself Make sure to ask your doctors questions that pertain to your specific diagnosis. How did the diagnosis affect your marriage and two young children? It brought my husband and I closer. Our children were too young to know exactly what was going on so we made sure to shield them from this. Our oldest daughter just knew that mommy had a boo-boo and would be ok.  How did your diagnosis affect your career? In a positive way. Did your diagnosis have any negative or positive ramifications on your career? It has positive ramifications because I can share this experience with my clients and hopefully be an inspiration to help them overcome their own personal adversities. www.thegoodsmag.co 21