Hair Restoration

Before Virginia Tweedy began chemotherapy, she found a new hairdresser. When she returned home, her daughters touched her glossy brown hair and raved.

Not even her own girls could tell that Mom was wearing a wig.

Tweedy’s new salon is located on the first floor of Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank and is among several appearance centers in Los Angeles County that assist women undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

“I didn’t want people looking at me and saying, ‘You poor thing.’ ” said Tweedy, 51, of Glendale. She was diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago.

Patients say the center at St. Joseph’s, with dozens of high-quality wigs and custom service, helps them feel better. Bebe Tamberg, the center’s coordinator, said her aim is to give women a sense of control--and boost their spirits--while they fight for their lives.

“Women with cancer have enough to worry about without having to feel like they look horrible, too,” said Tamberg, 66, of North Hills. “The better you look, the better you feel. The wigs serve as a bridge to the normal world.”

Tamberg developed a rare form of breast cancer 12 years ago, and learned firsthand about the nausea, vomiting, fatigue and other side effects of cancer treatment.

Chemotherapy and radiation can cause hair loss on all parts of a woman’s body. Her skin parches and pales. Her weight can drop to skeletal proportions. Or it can bloat. Surgery can disfigure and scar breasts--or remove them altogether.

So much of a woman’s identity can be tied to appearance, Tamberg said, that losing hair or breasts is devastating. “Then they’re sent to these horrible durable medical supply shops, with bedpans on the wall, for a prosthesis, or to a costume shop for wigs that look just ridiculous,” she said. “It’s humiliating.”

In California, the American Cancer Society estimates that 28,035 women this year will have to cope with breast, ovarian, uterine or cervical cancer.

The American Cancer Society offers appearance seminars in Los Angeles County, said Leah Lewis, who helps run local cancer education and awareness programs. The “Look Good . . . Feel Better” program, which started in 1989, gives women free cosmetic samples and beauty tips about hair, wigs, turbans and makeup application.

Looking Better, Feeling Better

Although no studies directly link appearance to cancer recovery, many oncologists report that patients do better when they feel they have some control over their looks. “It makes them feel more positive,” said Dr. Raul Mena, chief of staff at Providence St. Joseph and director of its cancer program. “It helps them regain control over their lives.”

After overcoming her cancer, Tamberg, a former fashion show producer, began collecting colorful and elegant turbans, which she gave to women with cancer. Eventually, she offered makeup tips and wigs and, through her volunteer work, hooked up with oncologists at Providence Health System, which includes St. Joseph and Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where she worked out of a small room.

Today, Tamberg runs a nonprofit housed on the first floor of St. Joseph’s. With bright lights, mirrors and wig and makeup samples, the center looks like a relaxing salon and offers wig styling by Grace Odin, a licensed cosmetologist and owner of A Grand Salon & Spa in Granada Hills.

The center also sells prostheses and special bras.

Consultation is free, and wigs--generally not covered by insurance companies--can cost from $150 to $400. But Tamberg and Odin, who have personally bought wigs for women who cannot afford them, said they will never turn away a woman who cannot afford a wig.

“It is just too important,” said Tamberg, who is applying for grants to help defray costs for low-income women. “No one should have to walk around looking like they have cancer.”

For Tweedy, a vice president at Warner Bros., maintaining her appearance was particularly important because she wanted to continue working without expressions of pity. Aside from a few colleagues, no one even knew she had cancer. She also wanted to look normal for her two daughters, ages 15 and 21, whose father died six years ago.

Skepticism Turns to Great Relief

Before she began chemotherapy, Tweedy went to Tamberg’s appearance center. She wanted to wear her wig before the hair loss, so she would be used to it. She was skeptical when she first walked into the center. “I didn’t want a wig that looked like a stuffed animal,” she said.

Odin helped her select a wig that resembled her natural hair and cut and styled it. When Odin was finished, Tweedy wept with relief and gratitude.

“You made me look like me,” Tweedy said, hugging Odin.

Tweedy said she felt reassured that everything would be OK.

“You’re not in control of your treatment,” Tweedy recalled. “The medication, the nausea, the vomiting. But you can be in control of your looks, and that means so much.”

Tweedy wore her new wig home that night. During dinner, her daughters complimented her new haircut, touched her shiny locks and asked what kind of conditioner the hairdresser had used.

Tweedy mentioned that she had bought a wig.

Her daughters wanted to see it.

“You’re looking at it,” Tweedy replied.

“No way,” her daughters said in disbelief. “No way.”