A Cut That Helps Others

(published on the Cupertino Daily!)

By Vicki Yang

With all the budget cuts and not favorable economic conditions, there’s one cut that can benefit not only you, but a cancer patient - a hair cut! There are numerous organizations out there that collect hair to create wigs for cancer patients who lose theirs through chemotherapy.

A few years ago I decided after decades of long hair, I was going to take a risk and chop my hair short. I had grown it out to 10 inches and decided to donate it to Locks of Love (www.locksoflove.org). It’s great to know that all that hair went to someone who really could use it, plus it reduced the amount of hair I shed all over my place and I was saving money on shampoo! Not to mention, washing/drying time was significantly cut short, as was styling time.
After that, I started to grow my hair out again, after two years of growing it I found out a friend of mine had been diagnosed with Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma. She was lucky in that they caught it when they did and that there was an 80% chance they could cure it. I made a promise to her that I would continue to grow my hair until she beat the cancer and I'd cut it and donate it to an organization that made wigs for cancer patients. Over the next 6 months, we talked, we cried, we laughed, and she stayed strong. I can honestly say she’s one of the most positive and most amazing people I know.
Despite her moments of despair, anger, and sadness, she would come out of it later with a renewed hope and strength. I did my best to always be there for her, but in some ways I think she did more for me than I did for her. She went thought chemo, lost all her hair and we sent her wigs and care packages. She made sure to take photos with her crazy wigs and even got wigs for the holidays (ie. green for St. Patty's day). This past May, her scan showed that she was clean and the cancer was gone. She's still going through radiation therapy but in a few weeks that will also be finished. Her journey is a constant reminder to all of us about how strong human nature can be, and how important it is to value life and never underestimate positive thinking.
During her battle with cancer I managed to grow out about 14 inches (at the longest piece) and went to Armando (www.getyourdoup.com), a friend of mine to have it cut. This time I chose to donate my hair to Pantene's Beautiful Lengths program in honor of my friend. I believe this is the only program that makes wigs for adult women who are cancer patients. You can find more information about them here: www.beautifullengths.com.
I can only imagine the feeling of losing your hair and feeling sick and not knowing if you’re going to be healthy again. Growing my hair and donating it, is only a small way to help those feel a little more like themselves and something I plan to continue to do as long as I can. I admire people who can stay positive when times are tough, they are a reminder that we should be thankful for everything we have and for life itself. If you would like more information on how to donate your hair, please visit: www.squidoo.com/donateyourhair.