Donate hair, or cash
Help fight cancer whatever way you can
By Marg McNeil
Several years ago I read about a young girl who donated her hair to provide a wig for another child going through cancer treatment. The article mentioned a need for donations of grey hair for wigs for women undergoing chemotherapy. Hair cannot be dyed grey. To make a grey wig you have to begin with grey hair.
Being a breast cancer survivor who had not lost her hair, I thought, "This is something I could do with my mop of grey hair." I visited my hairdresser, Anne Roberts at Image 1, and learned she knew where to send the cut hair.
"The hair must be untreated and at least eight inches long," Anne told me. It took 18 months before Anne said after measuring with her ruler, "It's long enough."
The second time I grew my hair out I went to Anne and complained, "I can't stand all this hair. It's unmanageable."
Lifting my hair she suggested, "I could give you two haircuts, short in front and long in back." That haircut was so easy to manage and lasted until my hair was ready to donate.
About a year ago I realized my hair had grown so long I could scrape it back into a ponytail. By this January it was again long enough. Anne asked, "How short do I cut it?"
I challenged her, "As short as you can." It's a great haircut, but it is short.
The hair is banded into small ponytails and sent, by mail, to the wigmakers, Eva and Co Wigs, in Vancouver. The company makes wigs for medical clients, religious groups, the entertainment industry, and everyday people. The two owners, Cindy Yip and Linda Gang, have a non-profit program to make wigs from donated hair. The wigs are then given to the Canadian Cancer Society and the BC Children's Hospital. Each wig is pre-styled and takes about 40 hours of labour.
In a phone call with Cindy, she said, "Women have told me that the loss of their hair was worse than going though their chemotherapy. And, also, how important it is look normal." She added, "A natural hair wig is more breathable and easier to wear than a synthetic wig but much more expensive. We do not receive a tax receipt for the donated wigs."
I asked several friends who were cancer survivors and who had gone through chemotherapy and lost their hair whether they used a wig. Some never bothered with a wig, while others bought a wig but seldom wore it.
Charlie Dickson told me how she approached her chemotherapy six years ago, "I had a party with some friends at my hairdresser's. As she shaved my head we toasted each other with ginger ale. I bought a wig but only wore it a few times." She paused. "You know, I still have that wig in my top drawer."
Meeting Beatrice Gaudet for coffee, I asked her about her experience going through chemotherapy treatment over 10 years ago. "I work with the public as a receptionist/secretary. I wore a wig as I worked while going through the chemo and I felt it wasn't professional to go around the office with a bald head. I wanted to look as normal as possible. The week after treatment I was off to recuperate. The next two weeks I worked until it was time for another chemo session. I did that all the way through."
This month is April. The cause is the Canadian Cancer Society's campaign to raise funds for research and patient services. This invasive disease has touched most of us in one way or another. Giving is something we all can do.
