Lezli Kuntze rarely walks by a mirror without doing a double take. Currently undergoing chemotherapy for her second bout with breast cancer, the 57-year-old is dealing with the side effect of hair loss by transforming her head into a beacon of support.

Every five to seven days, family and friends paint her head with a colourful design, each of which lifts her spirits and invokes a memory.

“I look in the mirror, and it makes me smile,” Kuntze told Zoomer at her home in Thornhill, Ont. “Whoever has painted my head, I feel like I have them with me. Every one of them tells a different story of a moment in time with somebody.”

Click the “view gallery” button above to see more of Kuntze’s head paintings

Kuntze checks out a new floral design in the mirror. Photo: Andrew Wright

The 26 designs include several elaborate floral scenes, an under-the-sea theme and a peacock complete with sparkles.

The idea was conceived after her first diagnosis five years ago when she was trying to find a way to make her upcoming treatment easier on her two children, who were eight and nine at the time.

“We were going to do Crayola markers on mommy’s head on Friday nights and send pictures to the family,” Kuntze explains.

While the colouring sessions never took place after cancellation of her chemotherapy and a period of remission, the idea provided an important starting point when the cancer returned in a much more aggressive form in May of this year.

After some research, the markers were replaced with water-based makeup.

And, as originally planned, her children were the first to put brush to scalp, with a design to match a jersey Kuntze had worn during a cycling fundraiser in support of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children.

Lezli heads out for a cycling fundraiser after her two children painted her head to match her jersey. — Kuntze heads out for a cycling fundraiser with a design her children painted to match her jersey. Photo: Courtesy of Lezli Kuntze

“They’ve been participating in it so it feels more comfortable for them,” she says. “And when we go out, they actually don’t mind when people stop and look because they know that it’s kind of cool, and they know that it makes me feel better.”

The idea, now fully realized, allows family and friends to provide support that extends beyond their time spent with her.

“Medically, I can’t do anything,” says Susan Ambrose, a musical theatre teacher and long-time friend who has contributed several paintings. “But being able to provide something that makes Lezli feel better is huge. I can see her mood lift when her head gets painted.”

Long-time friend Susan Ambrose hard at work on Lezli's 24th head painting. — Long-time friend Susan Ambrose hard at work on Kuntze’s 25th head painting. Photo: Andrew Wright

That lift doesn’t always require a mirror either.

Breast Cancer Patient Uses Her Head as a Canvas to Change Her Outlook