Wig service helps cancer patients
IN a small improvised salon on Bell St, Ipswich cancer patients are regaining some comfort and confidence.
The low-key Ipswich Hospital Foundation Wig Library affords patients who have lost their hair through treatment a new hairdo.
Ex-borrower Elizabeth Spearritt said the service helped her by adding some normality to a difficult time in her life.
"I lost my hair through chemotherapy and I found it hard to relate to the bald person in the mirror," Ms Spearritt said.
Ms Spearritt said wearing a wig also made her illness less worrying for her children and friends.
"It can help to take away the angst from your family ... I have young kids and wearing a wig was less confronting for them," she said.
Borrowers like Ms Spearritt are fitted for wigs by volunteers who have had cancer.
Library assistant Tracy Koroleff said discussions at the library could progress from the basics of wig care to topics like how to cope with other chemotherapy side effects and explain cancer to family members.
Phone 1300 736 428 to find out more or make a donation.
