My Cranial Prosthesis

Out of all the various styles and colors of wigs, I picked this synthetic wig from the “Noriko Collection.” The wig is called the "Ryan” and the color is toasted brown. It was made in Thailand. The wig is perky bob that reminds me of a hairstyle that a morning newscaster would wear…so not me. (I just miss my old "no particular style" hair.) I feel like I am wearing a mop on my head when I have the wig on. I look at pictures of me in the wig and I wonder, “Who is this person?” I will wear this wig when I don’t want to be cancer identified. For example, I wore the wig for the first time when I went to Emma’s school yesterday to volunteer in the library. One of Emma’s little friends didn’t recognize me and asked Emma if I was the babysitter. Emma whispered back that I was wearing a wig because my hair had fallen out.

Little known fact: Wigs that are purchased because of chemotherapy are covered in part by some health insurances. In the insurance business, a wig is called a “cranial prosthesis.”




Here I am with my wig on next to my stylist friend, Bonnie. In the world of chemo wigs, Bonnie is well known as the "blue hair lady" that many chemo patients in Austin go to when they need wig help.