Sharon's Story

With a quick wit and compassionate heart, Independent Executive Senior Sales Director Sharon Coburn has been building a successful Mary Kay business for over 29 years. Aside from her many business accomplishments, she’s engaged in a head-to-head battle with cancer… and is winning.

At the age of 26, Sharon wanted to start a family with her husband, Jim. But shortly after a series of doctor’s visits it was discovered she had a fibroid in her uterus.

“I was told not to worry because, at the time, one in seven women had them and mine was the size of a pea. But I should have realized the warning signs of something more serious.”

Three years later, Sharon was rushed to the hospital with bleeding from a suspected miscarriage. However, it was only after an emergency hysterectomy that doctors discovered she had a 7-pound fibroid in her uterus.

“They told me that I was very lucky because it looked like cancer on my ovaries, but it turned out not to be,” says Sharon, adding. “I was only to discover that six years later the pathologist had made a huge mistake.”

At 35 years old, Sharon was rushed to the former Wellesley Central Hospital in Toronto. Again an emergency surgery was performed. This time, doctors found a 10-pound tumor on her ovaries that was wrapped around her bowels and that’s when they delivered the most shattering news of all – Sharon had three to six months to live.

Barely able to digest the news, Sharon was then told by doctors that she had a new, very rare tumor, which reduced her life expectancy from three months to six weeks.

After the initial shock and grief, Sharon says it was her family who supported her efforts to overcome, as she calls it “this monster”. But instead of accepting defeat, Sharon took action.

While she was a patient in the cancer ward, Sharon lived by the philosophy 'look good, feel better'. She would wake each morning to apply her makeup and style her hair, and then she did the same for other women suffering from the appearance-related effects of cancer – much to the delight of hospital staff.

When the positive changes in the other women's spirits couldn’t be denied, an idea was born. Sharon's acts of kindness, as well as her 'look good, feel better' philosophy, would spread nationwide through an informational video entitled Appearance Concepts, a catalyst for the Look Good, Feel Better® Program in Canada.

The cause was more than admirable - and deep-rooted in Mary Kay Ash's heart. Sharon approached President Ray Patrick with the concept and, with Mary Kay's full support, the Company not only helped to initiate the project but also provided cosmetics and other coping tools to accompany the video.

In doing so, Sharon has gone on to inspire hundreds of women across the country through the Look Good Feel Better® program. She says: “That which was meant for harm ended up being good!”

Five surgeries and countless chemotherapy and radiation treatments later, Sharon continues her courageous battle against cancer.

Helping her through it is her attitude of “not looking back, but looking forward to the future” and the many cherished relationships she has in her life.

Aside from her wonderful husband, Jim, and friends and family, one relationship that she holds especially close to her heart is that of the Company’s founder, Mary Kay Ash.

“I was blessed to have had a personal friendship with Mary Kay and I found that when life was just too tough, she seemed to know when to call. She was such an inspiration,” she says, adding: “I always thought that if I could inspire just one woman as Mary Kay had inspired me… breathed life into me… it would be a great thing.”

Throughout her journey, Sharon says she has learned what’s truly important in life. And one of those things is “to share with others, to give hope and bring joy. To live one day at a time and to live until you die”.

For those women just diagnosed with cancer, Sharon has some words of wisdom to share in the hopes of encouraging others to keep fighting.

“You’re not dying of cancer, you’re living with cancer. I would encourage you to hang out with only positive people and never listen to negativity. Surround yourself with fun-loving friends and be sure to laugh – often. Laughter is, after all, the greatest medicine.”

With a little luck and an unwavering faith and determination, Sharon will be the one to have the last laugh.