Paint the Paper Pink

Breast cancer treatment: When the hair begins to go
Local stylist offers free solutions for hair loss

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[October 20, 2019]  With chemotherapy often comes the loss of hair. While strides have been made in this area and not all women lose their hair during treatment, some still do. For those who do, the loss can have a very negative impact on their self-esteem and that can have a negative impact on their warrior attitude.

In addition to impacting self-esteem, the loss of hair can also lead to additional health issues. For example, hair and head coverings are necessary in the cold months to help retain body heat. The majority of our body heat escapes through our head. So, having hair and wearing head coverings is important when the weather is cold.

In addition, hair and head coverings provide shelter from the sun. Sunburn on the scalp can be quite painful. Especially during treatment, it is important to avoid sores and abrasions. So, blistering from sunburn is not something a cancer patient should experience if avoidable.

For some, buying a wig is something that they can’t work into the budget. For those people, the American Cancer Society does offer a solution, a wig bank that is accessible to cancer patients who are income eligible.

Cancer patients can get information about wig banks through the ACS website, but here in Logan County there is an active wig bank where patients can go to a local stylist, choose a wig have it cut and styled to fit their face, and walk out of the salon feeling better about themselves.

Fabulous Hairstyles with owner/operator/stylists Kim Olson and her mother Judy Worth offer this service to any qualified individual who needs a wig.

Olson recently spoke about the wig bank and explained a little bit about what they do at Fabulous. The shop has an inventory of gently used wigs that clients can go through and choose. In addition, the stylists can assist clients in getting wigs through other ACS free resources if they don’t have something suitable in their inventory.



Once a wig is selected, it is fitted to the client, and styled on their head. Sometimes wigs need a little bit of shaping to fit the face or a length adjustment. Kim and Judy are happy to work with their clients, because they understand the impact this small gesture can make on a warrior.

Judy is a six time cancer survivor, who still struggles from time to time, but doesn’t let it stop her. She helps with the wig bank, actually doing most of it and she also works as a stylist at one of the local senior living facilities.

Kim said there has been a time or two when she and her mom talked about giving the responsibility of the wig bank to someone else, but then something strange and kind of wonderful happened during a fitting one time.

Kim explained that people don’t often see the tops of their heads. It’s practically impossible to get a mirror in a position where one can see the top and a lot of people don’t ever think about trying to look, or having someone else look.

One day Judy was preparing a client for a fitting, and before doing so was looking at the shape of her head and noted something odd looking on the top of her head. It alarmed her enough that she felt compelled to tell her customer there was an odd spot there. She suggested the client might want to speak to her doctor about it.

Sometime later, the client reached out to Judy and said that she wanted to thank the stylist for telling her about the spot. It turned out that when the doctor examined it and did the testing, the spot was an aggressive skin cancer that could have become life-threatening in only a short while. The client thanked Judy for perhaps saving her life from one cancer as she battled to survive another.

Kim said after that, she and her mom knew that they were not ready to pass the torch to another stylist. The care and consideration they give to their clients is important to Kim and Judy, and they want to rest easy knowing that each client is treated with love and respect. In addition, they know that not everyone would have seen what Judy saw. Giving their clients that little extra bit of attention is why Judy and Kim both keep doing what they do.

Karen Hargis remembers when her best friend lost her hair; it was a tough thing to go through. But the situation was made better when her friend was able to go to Fabulous Hairstyles in Lincoln and get a wig through the American Cancer Society Wig Bank.

“My best friend had cancer and was losing her hair and went to Fabulous Hairstyles and tried on wigs. They had plastic tubs full of wigs in every color and length. She picked one out that was close to her regular hairstyle and Kim cut and shaped it to look so natural.

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"I can’t tell you what this service did for her self-esteem. It’s an amazing service. And while American Cancer Society supplies most of those wigs for free, Kim and Judy at Fabulous have such a compassionate hearts for those going through cancer. They have been there and know the struggle.”

Karen also noted that when her friend left her, the wig she had gotten from Fabulous was donated back to the wig bank along with a second wig that her friend had purchased.

Nila Smith also had a close friend who went through the loss of hair. She remembers how hard it hit her friend, and the impact it had on Nila as well.

“She was a strong woman, unshakable in just about every situation. She took her cancer battle seriously and was determined that it would not take her life. She fought hard and for a bit, it seemed that she might succeed. Then she developed metastatic breast cancer of the brain, and it was downhill from then on.

“Even as her condition worsened though, she was still a fighter and she stayed a fighter to the very last day. I seldom saw her fall apart or get angry over what she was going through, with one exception. I remember it so clearly, we had talked earlier in the day as we did every day. But on that particular evening, I was at home and she called me. She was crying hard and it took a while for her to relay to me that she had gone to wash her hair and a bunch of it came out.

“She was one of those people that her hair defined her. She had a light complexion with freckles and bright red hair that she loved. She always looked younger than she was because of her coloring. It gave her that little girl look all the time.

“Through the tears she talked about her hair and how devastating it was to have it leave her. Then as the tears finally subsided she said to me, “you have to come cut my hair.” Then it was my turn to sob hard, I didn’t think I could do it in spite of the fact she was my best friend. “I don’t think I can do it,” Nila said. She replied, “I don’t think I can either. That’s why it has to be you. I don’t want anyone else to go through this with me, it has to be you.”

“So, I got in the car and drove to her house that night. We did it in her kitchen and we snipped and bawled and snipped and bawled all the way through it. When we were finished she had only about a quarter inch of hair all over her head, and the spots where hair had come out were quite visible.

“For the next few days she wore scarves and hats, but after about a week, all the hair was gone and she was completely bald. Then one day she showed up wearing this cute little red wig. I had worried about her going into a depression over the loss of her hair, and knew if she did, she might give up. But the wig, well it was the next best thing for her. She had chosen red, of course, and had it styled similar to her own hair. Yes, you could tell if you knew her well, that it was a wig, and not entirely the same, but close enough that it revived the fight in her, and helped her keep her dignity.”

Attitude is so very important when someone is battling any kind of illness not just cancer or breast cancer. When there is something that can be done to improve the attitude and lighten the load of the heavy burden a patient carries, it should be done.



Wigs are not for everyone. A number of women chose not to go the wig route because a wig can be hot, sometimes hard to keep on and just in general a nuisance. To each it is their prerogative. Some choose caps or scarves and others feel that their bald head helps define them in this particular stage of their lives. The bottom line, do what is right for you, do what makes you stronger and makes you a better, tougher warrior.

For those who are interested in obtaining a wig, the American Cancer Society does offer some information, but we suggest here locally that you visit Kim and/or Judy at Fabulous Hairstyles in Lincoln. They will treat you with love and respect and will assist you in any way they can.

If you have a warrior who has left you and you wish to do good for others, Fabulous will also accept wig donations for the ACS wig bank.


[Nila Smith]

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