Olympic Medical Center teams up to give free wigs to women, kids fighting cancer

June 6, 2018

Olympic Medical Center in Port Angeles has teamed up with the American Cancer Society and Port Angeles’ Studio 121 School of Cosmetology and The Hair School to provide free wigs to local women and children fighting cancer who have lost their hair during treatment. They work together as part of a national campaign by Pantene Beautiful Lengths, which creates and gives brand new wigs made from donated hair. Each participant is given two wigs, which are then styled for a personal touch.

It takes between six and eight donated ponytails of eight inches or longer to make a new wig. The Hair School collects donations that are used to make the wigs, which offer some needed comfort. For some, it offers an opportunity to try out a new hair style. One woman had fantasized about having longer hair, and she was able to get it through the program. Another woman was able to choose a new hair color.

For Sequim’s Dawn Saiz, who had been diagnosed with colon cancer that had already metastasized to her liver, the gift of a wig made for an immediate transformation.

“It looks like me. I’m amazed,” Dawn said as the wig was being shaped. For the stylist who gets to help make the transformation, it can be equally special.

“Women in cancer treatment should feel good about themselves and having a full head of hair — styled especially for them — can be the key,” said Shara Smith, The Hair School’s owner who also had cancer in 2004. “It’s something I can do, and it gives me such joy.”

Read more in an article from the Peninsula Daily News. (Tim Pfarr)

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