“If you’re going through cancer treatment,” she says, “you should still be able to feel comfortable and relaxed.” She plans to offer services like wig-fitting, product consultations, makeup (to deal with eyelash and eyebrow loss), and hair-growth tips.

Can you imagine being able to go to a salon that caters specifically to cancer patients? Where everyone there would share the same life experiences? Where you could relax and recharge without having to worry about feeling singled out?

Fortunately, we have some signs of similar activity here in the U.S. Several salons have partnered with the American Cancer Society to sponsor the “First Cut” program, which offers cancer patients a fresh, new look at the conclusion of their treatment—free. “When hair grows back it is often a different texture and color,” says Judy Solomon, owner of City Lights Hair Care Center in Barrington, “which may prompt cancer survivors to try a different haircut or employ new styling techniques.”

Another example: “Hello Gorgeous!” is a non-profit salon that brings free beauty treatments to cancer patients and survivors in Indiana. This mobile day spa travels around delivering services where patients are most comfortable. They also provide little surprises like flowers and chocolates while offering services like manicures, pedicures, facials, massages, makeup application, and hair care.

One more: Dawn’s Pizzazz Artistic Group & Day Spa offers a “day of pampering” fundraiser for cancer survivors, people living with cancer, their families and caregivers, all of whom receive discounted prices on spa services and hair care.

We could find more who occasionally give services to cancer patients, offer discounts, or regularly perform head shaving, wig fitting, and wig care. However, it was so neat to hear about this salon in Edinburgh. Their primary mission is to provide relaxing, restoring services to cancer patients on a full-time basis. There, it’s not just about shaving off the hair or getting a wig. It’s about having a place to go anytime you want to where you can feel comfortable, let down your guard, and enjoy a service that will leave you feeling better about yourself. We would love to see more of these in our country!

Do you know of any other salons like these? Please let us know about them.

Photo courtesy keller.international via Flickr.com.

“We would finish a landscape project for someone,” Nathan says, “and we’d be cleaning up when they would come home and see the pond or the fountain or whatever we had done for them, and nine times out of ten they’d drop everything to focus on this new space and just be with their families and with nature. Instantly, all their cares were gone.”

Curious, Nathan researched the effect of water and nature on healing, and found “there’s an actual link to the sights and sounds of water and the release of chemicals in the body that act as stress relievers.” He dug into the subject a little more and found that medical communities have started incorporating water into their environments, from artwork on building walls to peace-promoting landscaping around treatment areas. However, he found that most of these spaces weren’t maximizing the potential benefits. “It was more about aesthetics and not enough about how it could really help people to relax.”

Meanwhile, Nathan’s good friend, Bill, was going through cancer. Diagnosed with leukemia only three weeks after losing his 24-year-old son to brain cancer, Bill was fighting hard, and experiencing the usual ups and downs of treatment. “He needed something to take his mind off what he was going through,” Nathan says. Why not a pond in his own back yard? “I wanted to give him a spot where he could just go and be.”

After Bill’s enthusiastic response to the completed project, Nathan started thinking about other cancer patients. “I felt I was being called to find a way to provide this for other people,” he said. A few handwritten notes and a couple meetings later, Nathan had started a foundation called River of Hope. “We had a 30-minute TV show produced and aired on the four-year anniversary of Bill’s diagnosis. From there we started working on ways to keep building.”

Unfortunately, while River of Hope continued to grow, Bill contracted a serious infection, from which he never recovered. A few weeks before passing away, he encouraged Nathan to hang onto his dream. “He told me—‘You have to keep doing this. It’s the only thing that gave me peace in my last few weeks.’”

Bill’s words encouraged Nathan to work even harder providing natural retreats for cancer patients. So far, he’s planning six new projects in his hometown of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and hopes to eventually expand from residential areas to community parks that incorporate nature, water, and other forms of integrative medicine. “We want to raise awareness about this disease,” Nathan says, “and how it affects not just patients, but everyone in their lives—families, friends, and communities.”

Nathan says he’s found it particularly rewarding how, even after a cancer patient has passed away, the family still gathers around the ponds and fountains to share memories and quiet moments. “I would go over to see how things were going and they would just be sitting out there talking about memories, using it as a gathering place for their own healing. It’s just so powerful. It goes beyond what I ever thought it could be. For the patients, it’s a way to escape and reflect on what they’re going through. For the families, it’s a way to connect.”

If you have someone you think would benefit from one of Nathan’s landscape retreats, please visit his website and submit a nomination. There is no charge to the patient as the landscaping is supported through Nathan’s fundraising efforts and from corporate and personal donations and partnerships. You can also donate through his website here.

“My ultimate goal is to encourage more people to go out and find ways to help support quality of life for those who are going through cancer. There are so many ways people can help others in their communities.”

Have you found water and nature to be helpful in your cancer journey? Please share your story.

“If your wig is just being stored,” says StarWish 624, “send it on to continue its good work. It feels good to help other BC [breast cancer] sisters.”

“Today, I shampooed, conditioned, and combed my old wig,” says survivor Jacki. “It sits drying on my bathroom counter. When it’s all done and pretty, I’ll mail it off to my friend Carmen, who just the other day had her first chemotherapy for breast cancer.”

If you have a wig just sitting around, you have a lot of options. First, if you know someone who may need it, you can send it directly to them. Some of the message boards on cancer communication sites (like cancer compass) have places where you can advertise your old wig for cancer fighters who would like a wig, but can’t afford a new one.

If you don’t make a direct connection with someone, there are several other options. Here are just a few. Whatever you do, don’t just let that head of hair sit and gather dust!

• Local cancer centers often donate wigs to cancer patients. Call any in your area and ask them where you can donate. “My name is Sheila and I work for a Cancer Center,” says one caregiver. “One of our biggest problems is finding wigs for our ladies. When they become ill, it’s both financially and emotionally draining. If you still have a wig…let me know.”
• Oncology offices like cancer centers, will often take used wigs. Call your local oncology centers.
• Cancer support groups often know where you can take used wigs. If you took part in a support group during your treatment, contact them for information on where you may donate your wig.
• Wig shops often make a habit of donating wigs to cancer patients. Yours could become one of those passed on to someone who needs one. Beautiful Naturally Wigs and Hair Pieces is one such shop that takes donations of gently used wigs. Or try WigShop.com—they have a list of locations where you can mail used wigs.
• The American Cancer Society (ACS) has many local chapters that provide free wigs to cancer patients and take wig donations.
• CancerCare has offices throughout the nation and would be happy to take your wig donation.
• University of Michigan Health Center maintains a large collection of donated wigs. Check other health centers in your area as well.
• City wig drives may be occurring in your area. Watch the news and take your wig to the drop-off sites.

Donating a wig can make a big difference to someone you may not even know. As Edith Imre, wig designer, says, “One little girl came into my salon wearing a kerchief, and when I took it off she started to cry. Others have told me they felt like freaks because they had no hair. You just cannot hear things like that and not do something.”

Have you donated your wig? How did you do it? Please share your story.

Photo courtesy A K Wig Designs via Flickr.com.