Addressing Psoriasis™ Winners

A fashionable figure
Cynthia McGowen
Age 37, League City, Texas

Cyndi McGowen appreciates the fashions of the 1940s and '50s, thanks to her own hourglass figure and affection for décolletage. It was, says the smooth-voiced Texan, "a time when a womanly figure was celebrated.".

That sense of style guides her clothing choices these days, but it wasn't always that way. When she was first diagnosed with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis in her 20s, Cyndi covered up because she didn't want to make other people uncomfortable. But after a brutally hot Texas summer, she couldn't stand it any more.

"I just decided I need to wear clothes that I feel more comfortable in. I got out all the clothes I used to wear—more form-fitting, sleeveless or short-sleeved things."

There wasn't a National Psoriasis Foundation support group in nearby Houston, so Cyndi started one. Meeting others with the disease—including one woman who said she wore long sleeves, a scarf and pants even while mowing the lawn—made her all the more determined to dress the way she wanted to.

Cyndi read about the Addressing Psoriasis™ contest in the Foundation's Psoriasis Advance magazine, and asked her uncle to help make a video to tell her story. She's excited to visit New York to let people know that changing how she dresses has helped her educate others.

"If someone looks at me and they start focusing on psoriasis, I use that opportunity to educate them. Once I explain it, they relax and don't focus on it anymore."

Even better: People seem to notice her psoriasis less than they notice someone wearing long sleeves and pants on 102-degree days.