Hair, care, share: Hair loss adds to cancer trauma

MANILA, Philippines - The gravity of her son’s illness struck Maria Roleta Miranda hard when she saw strands of hair on the boy’s pillow one morning last week.

At four years old, John Sedrick seemed too young to be suffering from a potentially fatal illness like leukemia.

“My heart ached,” the mother said. “Strong emotion rushed over me. It was like being told for the first time that my son has leukemia. I couldn’t help crying.”

The fourth in a brood of five, John Sedrick was diagnosed with leukemia in November 2012 at the Dr. Paulino Garcia Memorial Research and Medical Center in the Miranda family’s hometown in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija.

His parents never imagined that his recurring fever, paleness, contusions, bloated stomach and swollen right foot could be symptoms of his illness.

For John Sedrick, the symptoms were not the only things that caused him pain, but the teasing from his classmates as he started losing his hair.

For such children and other cancer patients who experience hair loss from chemotherapy, wigs can be a boon.

A sorority and a non-government organization have teamed up to promote interest in donating hair to make wigs for charity patients.

The boy was brought to the hospital for check up and after running a few tests on him, doctors told his parents about his condition.

“We were dumbstruck. We didn’t know what to say, we didn’t know how to react. Everything became blurred for me. As a mother, it was really so painful to know that my child is seriously sick,” the 39-year-old mother recalled in a broken voice.

The first thing that came to their mind is how to get Sedrick cured, knowing that cancer is an expensive disease and because his father Rodel had lost his job as a security guard at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in June last year.

At present, the family is relying on the support of some relatives as his parents could hardly shoulder his monthly medication of more than P2,000.

One of the boy’s elder sisters has already stopped going to high school to work as a nanny to help the family.

“We did not blame God, but at first we asked ourselves why it had to be him,” Miranda said.

Until now, Sedrick’s parents could not understand how he got leukemia since both sides of the family have no history of cancer.

To validate the findings and get treatment for Sedrick, he was brought by his parents to the PGH-Cancer Institute in Manila.

The boy had some examinations and then chemotherapy.

While undergoing treatment, Sedrick and his parents are staying in the residence of Marianne Relos in Camp Tinio, Taguig, who they just met at the PGH.

Relos, whose 11-month-old daughter Jewel is also suffering from leukemia, offered her house upon learning that the Miranda family lives in Cabanatuan and had nowhere to stay in Manila.

According to Sedrick’s mother, it was after the second chemotherapy that he started to lose hair.

The boy noticed his hair getting thinner and it bothered him so much.

“He would suddenly show me his hands holding some hair and he would ask us why his hair was falling off,” she said.

“We would tell him that he has an illness and it is the side effect of the treatment he is undergoing.”

The parents would always assure the boy that he would soon be cured and his hair would grow back to normal.

But when bald spots started forming on Sedrick’s head, smart as he is, he asked to have his head shaved.

“I was really surprised. We did not expect it from him,” the mother told The STAR. So Sedrick and his father went to a barbershop last week. 

“When they came home, he became irritated when he looked in the mirror. He was worried that he would be teased by his play mates because of his bald head,” Miranda said.

True enough, the boy became the subject of his playmates’ teasing.

“He would be called ‘kalbo’ (bald) by some children. He gets upset because of this, but I told him not to fight with other kids,” Miranda said.

She had also requested the mothers of these children to stop their kids from teasing Sedrick.

According to Antonio Villalon, former president of the Philippine Society of Medical Oncology and Philippine College of Physicians, chemotherapy drugs destroy the body’s “rapidly dividing cells,” including cancer cells.

“These rapidly dividing cells or the active cells are very sensitive to chemo and we can find many of these cells on the scalp,” he said.

As a result of the chemotherapy, the hair roots get damaged, causing the hair to stop growing or fall off, he said.

Villalon, however, said that hair usually grows back after the chemotherapy.

“There are actually patients who observed that their new hair is much better than the ones that have fallen off because of chemo. It’s healthier, silkier and darker,” he said.

Hair, care, share

Recognizing the impacts of hair loss to cancer patients, the Mu Sigma Phi Sorority of the University of the Philippines-College of Medicine has embarked on a project to provide wigs for cancer patients.

Dubbed “Hair, Care, Share,” the project also plans to renovate the play area for pediatric cancer patients at the PGH-Cancer Institute.

According to project head Veronica Ramos, a medical student at UP-Manila, they conceptualized the project to help cancer patients regain their self-esteem after losing their hair to chemotherapy.

“When we chose Cancer Institute as the beneficiary of our project, we decided to delve away from the usual medical mission. We wanted to go into the other aspect of health which is wellness – the aesthetic aspect of health,” she said.

“Mu Sigma believes that it would lift the spirit of cancer patients if they would be comfortable with their looks despite their illness and the side effects of treatment.”

Because of this, the group conceptualized a beauty and wellness bazaar.

The sorority partnered with the Donate Your Hair Today, a Cebu-based non-profit organization that donates wigs to children and women who lost their hair after chemotherapy.

Assistant project head Anna San Pedro, also a medical student at UP-Manila, said Donate Your Hair Today requires eight-inch hair for the wig.

“We are not sure if many could donate that kind of hair so we decided to do more. Aside from hair cut, we would also be providing manicure and pedicure and the proceeds will go to the Cancer Institute,” she said.

Under the project, Mu Sigma will set up a bazaar at the SM City Manila Event Area for its program on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Those who want to help may avail of haircut for P300, manicure for P250, and pedicure for P250 or manicure and pedicure for a discounted rate of P450.

Hair cutters will come from David’s Salon Academy while nail technicians will be from Centre de Sante International Wellness Institute.

The event will also feature inspirational talks by several speakers, including actress Yayo Aguila who will talk about her experience in overcoming cancer.

To reserve haircut, manicure, or pedicure slots, or for more information, interested parties may contact Micah Masbad (0923-6584992) or Aila Cruz (0927-3426711).