Triathlon: Top Triathlete Donates Hair for Cancer Patient

Hair donations:

The Canadian Cancer Society helps people living with cancer find wigs and other types of headwear when they experience hair loss as a result of cancer treatment. The Society is not involved in the collection of hair or the production of wigs, but we get many questions from people who want to donate their hair as a way to support those who are living with cancer.

Canadian triathlete Sharon Donnelly wrote the following article for her website: SharonDonnelly.com.

It is reprinted here with her permission.

For those who have seen me over the last year or so, I have grown my hair to quite a long length! At first I started growing it to avoid the high cost of having to get it cut every 4-5 weeks! Then finally it got to a length that I could just put it in a ponytail and do my training. Of course, training in mainly warm environments helped since I didn't have to blow-dry it!

I started entertaining the idea to get it cut short in early 2003, but decided to wait for another year when I learned of a friend who got breast cancer and was undergoing treatment at home in Kingston. When I returned from overseas racing, we met up and I was amazed at the wig she was wearing and how good it made her look! It made me so aware of the fact that something as simple as a wig can help make a person that is undergoing such a hard time, feel a little more normal. They are also treated normally by people around them rather than having people stare or look away when they see baldness that is attributed to cancer treatments.

So I researched hair donations to see if the length of my hair could qualify for a wig! The Canadian Cancer Society has an excellent source of information for locations across Canada that accepts hair for making wigs. Each one states their requirements and I chose a company from Eastern Canada for the fact that it would accept minimum of 8 inches. It takes approximately 3 heads of hair to make one wig! (Many others required at least 10 inches and I didn't really want to look like G.I. Jane!)

The website is: www.cancer.ca and look under "Hair Donations." Most hair salons will do this and if they do not perform this service, they would probably pass you onto another salon that does. Often times, a salon will charge just a nominal fee for styling and if they don't, why not ask them to donate half of your payment to the Cancer Society?

Upon my return home to Kingston in early January, I met my girlfriend who had just undergone her last treatment to let her know of my plans. She was thrilled and even better - she hails from Eastern Canada so my choice of companies was perfect!

So in late January, I did the deed! It was a lot of fun and I recommend that others do it too! My hair dresser simply made small ponytails and measured each of them before cutting them off. Then I gathered them all into an envelope and mailed them away!

So I am back to my short hair now, a blessing in this cold weather since I don't have to spend hours drying it! Even better is that I don't have to carry a brush or comb with me anymore!

Before I conclude, I want to let you know that I asked my friend if I should let others know why I did it and she was supportive in my wish to educate others about this option of giving and how it helps so much in the positive treatment and recovery of cancer patients. So I urge anyone who is thinking of cutting your hair - why not go the little extra and give it all away! It is a lot easier to take of and at the same time, you are making someone else so much happier, and being happy goes a long way in overcoming disease!

Have fun - get lighter!

Sincerely
Sharon Donnelly