I took my wigs to the Oncology Center last week. When I was there for my infusion I had asked my nurse if I could bring them in and she said I could if they were cleaned first. She told me that my wigs would enable someone else to have a sense of being "normal", who otherwise couldn't afford them. So I washed them and combed them out once they were dry, and must admit I tried them on one last time to make sure I was ready to give them up. But no, they were definately not who I want to be anymore...they were my transition wigs during chemo, and now I have a transition wig for rejoining life after chemo.
That night, Rich happened to bring home an article from the Wall Street Journal about a woman who had recently recovered from breast cancer and her traveling wig. For four years, this wig has been passed from woman to woman with cancer, all friends of the woman who originally bought the wig after her own diagnosis. Her belief was that when you wear this wig, you see yourself as a healthy person, and with these positive feelings this wig got her through it all. The article went on to say that in a recent study, it was found that during moments of uncertainty...when you're under high stress and low levels of control...people are more likely to attach positive energy to certain items. Called the "talisman placebo effect", it's the desire to have a physical token of a wish...in this case, the good health that has been restored to the women who have worn this wig. The "healing wig", as it is described, offers a shared strength, and a path back to health, say the women who've worn it. They all have felt it's power, and each time it is passed on, the woman's story is shared...all stories of restored health. This time it was her turn to pass on the wig.
When I was walking in with my wigs, a woman who was there for her chemo spotted them and, with shining eyes, told me how beautiful they were. I told her I was giving them to whoever needed them. I wasn't able to tell her my own story, but I hope that they become healing wigs for her and anyone else who might need them.
