Unless you’ve been through it, you probably don’t really understand the impact losing hair can have on a cancer patient. Losing your hair is a visible sign of illness and can trigger all sorts of unwanted responses from well- meaning people. However, a wig can help people suffering from hair loss due to cancer treatment regain some normality and can be a significant boost of confidence.

It was for this reason that Arrow’s Tracey Scone Wig Library was established in 2000. Since then, the Tracey Scone Wig Library has helped hundreds of cancer patients feel better about themselves as they face what can often be gruelling treatments.

Twenty years later, the onset of the COVID pandemic forced us to temporarily close our wig library service.  Fortunately, due to our long standing relationship with local wig supplier, The Individual Wig in Darlinghurst, we were able continue our help by offering subsidised wigs for cancer patients to purchase throughout this period. However, our free wig library service remained closed.

Since then we have re-evaluated our wig library donating wigs to Look Good Feel Better, and delivered roughly 80 new wigs in a range of styles and colours to Lismore Base Hospital whose own wig library service was in need of an update after the floods.

We are now pleased to announce that the Tracey Scone Wig Library will be re-opening thanks to the dedication of  Cheryl and Ros from The Individual Wig.  They will be administering the wig library service on our behalf with the support of St Vincent’s Hospital and Tour de Cure.

Wigs give cancer patients confidence

Cheryl and the team at The Individual Wig have been in business for over 50 years, offering expert advice and high quality wigs to their customers, many of whom are looking for a wig following chemotherapy.

We asked Cheryl why she was keen to help cancer patients through providing them with wigs, and she said, “Wigs give people confidence, without a doubt. The biggest thing for many patients is they want to get back to work and they don’t want people focusing on them being unwell. They want to feel exactly like they were before diagnosis. A wig helps with that. Some people haven’t been out since their diagnosis. They may have a special family occasion coming up, or are heading back to work. A wig gives people back their confidence and their identity.”

Carolyn, who received a wig through our wig library a little while back, agrees. For most people, hair loss due to cancer treatment is temporary. Carolyn is one of the few for whom hair loss is permanent.

She said “my wig has improved my life no end. I can go out into the world and feel normal. Even though I don’t have cancer anymore, the person I see when I look in the mirror still looks ill, and that can make it hard to move on. The wig has helped me to move on because it makes me look the way I feel now. It gives me so much more confidence and I don’t know what I’d do without it.”

Wig library reopens

We are thrilled that our wigs will now be available to patients like Carolyn once more: Cheryl and the team at The Individual Wig have now taken over the Tracey Scone Wig Library, with support from The Wellness Centre at The Kinghorn Centre, St Vincent’s Hospital, and with funding from Tour de Cure.

And we couldn’t be happier!

Why? Well, the team at The Individual Wig are experts when it comes to finding and fitting appropriate styles of wigs, and offer a friendly, professional, and accessible service that cancer patients love. Their reputation has led patients to travel from as far as Melbourne to access their services because of post-COVID closures of wig libraries there, too.

When asked why she is generously donating her time and supporting cancer patients in this way, Cheryl said, “I am happy to help with the wig library. I feel it is something we should do. It is a little thing I can do to help people get through treatment, and is something they don’t have to worry about. Treatment of any kind is costly and a wig is an additional cost. Many people can not afford a wig. It is a great community service for us to be part of.”

We are grateful for the support shown to cancer patients by Cheryl and her team, and also by Tour de Cure who have continued to support the wig library financially over many years. Their support enables the wig library services to continue in this way helping cancer patients regain their confidence and identity.