Cancer patients can choose hair pieces at community center
San Benito County residents who are undergoing cancer treatment
now have a local option for picking out a wig.
Jovenes de Anta
ño staff offers free wigs for cancer patients in San Benito
County, in partnership with American Cancer Society staff.
Cancer patients can choose hair pieces at community center
San Benito County residents who are undergoing cancer treatment now have a local option for picking out a wig.
Jovenes de Antaño staff offers free wigs for cancer patients in San Benito County, in partnership with American Cancer Society staff.
“We didn’t have anything in San Benito County,” said Pauline Valdivia, executive director of Jovenes de Antaño. “Here, we have different types of wigs. They’re all new. They’re different lengths, colors.”
The wig bank is located in the conference room of the Jovenes de Antaño Senior Center in Hollister. The room is set up with a desk and vanity in one corner.
The wig bank is exciting for cancer patients living in the county, wrote Carol Torterelli, in a press release.
“When I was going through cancer treatment I was forced to get fitted for my wig in a public place where everyone who passes by could see my bald head,” Torterelli said. “I am so happy that people who live here will now have a private, safe place to go when they need this service.”
Jovenes staff held the grand opening of the Wig Bank a couple of months ago, Valdivia said.
“The two people that we served already, they were so appreciative,” Valdivia said. “They thought they had to pay.”
Purchasing a wig from the American Cancer society costs between $38 and $149, according to their catalogue.
A human hair wig can cost more than $800, according to a Web site from wigs.com.
“They are expensive, and sometimes people are living on limited incomes,” Valdivia said.
The wig bank is an important service for the community, Valdivia said.
“We’re a small community, but we still need to do something,” Valdivia said. “This is just the start of something that can grow bigger, if we have to.”
Two local senior citizens, Jeanine Tyler and Sadie Hernandez, volunteer at the wig bank. They helped one client pick out a blonde colored wig.
“She wanted to stay to her own color, and it was pretty close,” Tyler said. “She had a hard time deciding on a couple different colors.”
The woman was very grateful, Hernandez said.
Some women would feel embarrassed about losing their hair, Tyler said.
“Before it happens, they can come here, pick out a wig that matches their own color,” Tyler said. “To see myself bald – I’d want something.”
