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Ellen York credits cancer with writing success

By Jolene Anderson
After being diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer in April 2004, Ellen York told her close friends she was going to focus her energy on a creative project to take her mind off of the dreaded "C" diagnosis and the treatment that would follow. Not wishing to give cancer any power, Ellen concentrated her energies on writing the ultimate how-to book on looking your best for your body type. In fact, York credits her cancer diagnosis with the motivation to write her book, [Only Registered Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register], targeted for women 5'4" and under, ideal weight through plus sizes.

A North Seattle resident and founder of the Ellen York Image Institute, York is a former musician, entertainer, couturier, image consultant, public speaker and author. Today, Ellen York can add one more credit to her name-only this time, she didn't choose to interview for the job. Ellen York is a breast cancer survivor.

Ellen has created fashions that have influenced a generation of Northwest women in the workplace. To meet Ellen York is to engage in a discussion with a woman who is a pro at teaching women how to present the right professional image. Her friends and clients describe her as a spunky woman. Her humor and wit are contagious.

Chemotherapy treatments, which lasted for three and a half months and were three weeks apart, left York feeling nauseated and depleted the first week. But by the second week, she would muster the energy to rise from bed every morning and focus all of her creative energy on writing her book. The power that cancer would threaten to steal from her body was transformed into the motivation to teach women around the globe to "put their best foot forward," no matter what life throws you.

The chemo treatments caused her to lose 30 pounds. Ellen was already a petite size 8 and soon found herself a size 2 weighing 98 pounds. Using her image consulting and dress design background, she became a master at layering her clothes, which was a form of camouflage. Admittedly, Ellen notes, many women have the opposite problem, due to the weight gain and bloating chemotherapy can cause. Her book gives advice on how to dress to hide the weight gain.

The ensuing double mastectomy presented an even greater challenge for her personal image. She laughingly revealed her bust size went from a size 0 to a minus 0. Ellen elected not to have reconstruction but instead credits a Victoria's Secret strapless bra to giving her the shape she most wanted under tops and sweaters.

Her humor and positive attitude carried her through the worst of her recovery. On her "good days," Ellen would dress up, put her make up on and head for a good movie. A killer seven weeks of radiation called for even more grit and determination. Finally, treatment was completed and healing could begin.

[Only Registered Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register] has universal appeal. Through generous use of color photos of clothing on real-life models, the book presents valuable information on how to dress to look your best. "Before" and "after" photos representing different body types and challenges, illustrate clothing and styles to help the readers showcase their bodies.

The first step is analyzing your best colors- an important step in choosing flattering clothes for yourself. Following this section, a complete guide is given on how to do a closet inventory, what to keep and what to give away or toss. Great information is presented through York's years of experience as a designer and image consultant, showing pants, skirts, jackets and tops, shoes and accessories-jewelry, handbags, wraps, belts, hats-to enhance every body challenge-large hips and thighs, large or small busts, pear shaped bodies, even tips for long legs and a short torso, and the opposite, as well as the inverted triangle.

York's life experiences include a career as a musician and entertainer, which became the foundation for her later success speaking in front of audiences. Realizing that her first interest had always been in dress design, she forsook the nightclub circuit and delved into creating clothing for the "working woman" in the 1970s and '80s. In Seattle, her business flourished and she became a local celebrity through her presentations. Her ever-widening circle extended to sports figures, which encompassed social skills, table etiquette and public speaking.

A June 2006 interview with Ellen on Martha Stewart's Sirius Satellite Radio Network was a huge hit. Ellen has also been featured on "Remarkable Woman" WATV AM as well as a feature story on KING TV's "Evening Magazine." Her next book, Dressing the Big and Beautiful Woman will be released in 2007.

To learn more about Ellen York and her book, visit the website [Only Registered Users Can See Links. Click Here To Register]. The book is available for purchase through Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble.com and local bookstores. A percentage of all book sales will be donated to funding cancer research.