PORTRAITS OF COURAGE.

Byline: Carol Bidwell Daily News Staff Writer

As she leafed through the album of glamour photos of breast-cancer survivors, each woman looking more beautiful than the one before, tears welled up in Jean O'Shea's eyes.

``It's just marvelous,'' said the 63-year-old Reseda woman who had surgery in July for breast cancer and who's still undergoing daily radiation treatments. ``It's so uplifting. I did what I had to do, and now I'm at that depressed stage.

``I'm here because it makes me feel like a woman again.''

``Here'' was a busy auditorium at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Woodland Hills where, on Thursday, 50 Valley women got glamour make-overs from professional makeup artists and hairdressers. Then they slipped into slinky wraps or draped feather boas across bare shoulders, donned glitzy jewelry and faced a professional portrait photographer to have their beauty - and their perseverance in the face of pain - captured on film.

The photos, along with those of nearly 600 other women, will be displayed on the Wall of Hope, an ever-growing memorial to the courage of women - and a few men - who've faced breast cancer and come out smiling and cancer-free.

Capital inspiration

Marilyn Gayler Axelrod, a 50-year-old Davis woman who survived a 1990 mastectomy, created the touring exhibit after visiting the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. It was there, seeing that monument, that she thought a similar way should be found to honor those who had fought a very private, but life-threatening battle with breast cancer.

The result was the Wall of Hope - a 70-foot-long (and growing) stretch of 35 laminated panels, each 2 feet wide and 6 feet, 3 inches tall - that shows that breast-cancer survivors can still be beautiful and full of hope, even after enduring excruciating emotional and physical pain.

Most of the Valley women who signed up for glamour make-overs last week have fought their own battle with breast cancer; a few have friends or relatives who have battled the disease.

For Angela Lepro, 62, of Northridge, a Kaiser nurse, having her portrait on the Wall of Hope is a victory in itself. She battled breast cancer four years ago and won.

But she remembers fearing that her doctor had handed her a death sentence.

``I was scared to death,'' Lepro said as makeup artist Rebecca Covington applied eye shadow to her face. ``I thought the next day I would be dead. But you just do it one day at a time and you make the best you can with what time you have. I don't worry about the future, just take care of today. I think the Wall of Hope shows people there are survivors; there isn't always death after a breast cancer diagnosis.''

Norma Young, 58, of Northridge, Kaiser outpatient records administrator and a friend of Lepro's, said she came for a glamour makeover because part of the fee for the photo session goes toward breast cancer research.

A new perspective

``I believe in this cause, and I want to do all I can to help,'' said Young, who fought her battle with cancer in 1990. ``If something happens to me now, there's a wall with my glamour photo to show that I did exist.''

Her fight has changed her life, she said.

``Now, I have fun,'' Young said with a big grin. ``I don't put anything off. There's no tomorrow; we do it now.''

And her message to other women facing the same disease is simple: ``If you find a lump, go to the doctor and get it taken care of. Don't be afraid of chemotherapy. Do what you need to do to beat it.''

For Kay Schad, 60, of Glendale, who had both breasts removed in 1980 after a cancer diagnosis, having her portrait on the Wall of Hope has special significance because she's a two-time survivor. She successfully battled a recurrence two years ago.

``I discovered that both my grandmothers died of cancer, although not of breast cancer,'' said Schad, awaiting her turn before the camera. ``And I have two daughters, but they're adopted, so they don't share the same genes. But I still encourage them to take care of themselves, to do monthly (breast) exams so they don't have to go through what I have.''

As she watched the other women undergoing their make-overs, O'Shea talked about her July cancer diagnosis and surgery, and the deep depression she's battling now. Radiation treatments have sapped her energy and her strength. Now she grieves not only for herself but for her family, to whom she can no longer be supermom - cooking, cleaning, planning, nurturing.

``But I've been getting counseling, and my counselor said something that made me feel better. She said, `You're entitled to feel sick, entitled to not do things for everybody, entitled to take care of yourself.'

``I think, `Oh, dear God, let me live long enough to do what I want to do,' '' O'Shea said, wiping away tears. ``It's been a dream of mine to travel all over the United States. My husband, Don, will retire next year, and we'll sell our home and buy an RV and travel. I want to be able to do that. But you have to put your faith in the hands of the man upstairs. He knows what he's doing. And I know I'm going to be OK.''

Creator wants to expand wall

Marilyn Gayler Axelrod, who quit her marketing job at a Bay Area glamour photography firm in 1994 to head the nonprofit Wall of Hope corporation, said she expects the wall to grow to more than 100 feet long by 1998.

Although her initial efforts have concentrated on California breast-cancer survivors, next year will mark the beginning of an effort to add portraits of women from all 50 states to the wall.

And there are plenty of breast-cancer survivors, according to the American Cancer Society. Although 184,300 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in 1996 and an estimated 44,300 women died from it (only lung cancer causes more cancer deaths among women), nearly three times as many survived the disease.

To get their portrait on the wall, each survivor photographed pays $29.95, with half that sum going to a cancer-fighting charity designated by the group that organizes a photo session. The other half goes to pay the cost of photography, travel and preparation of new panels for the wall.

To arrange for a make-over and photo session or for a ``visit'' by the Wall of Hope, write: Wall of Hope, P.O. Box 2393, Davis, Calif. 95617, or call [phone]. To reach the Wall of Hope on the Internet, look for it at: http://www.mother.com/wallofhope.

CAPTION(S):

4 Photos, Box

Photo: (1--Cover--Color) COMEBACK FROM CANCER

Breast cancer survivors get new looks for new lives

(2) Marilyn Gayler Axelrod, left, shows Angela Lepro and Norma Young the selection of glamour outfits for their portraits.

(3) Kathleen Roberts styles Angela Lepro's hair before her sitting.

(4) Norma Young likes her make-over.

Tina Gerson/Daily News

Box: Creator wants to expand wall (See Text)