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Hartford Shop Donates Wigs to Cancer Patients

Jangwon Son (left), owner of Hair City in Hartford, recently donated 75 new wigs for cancer patients who participate in the DIVAS Latina Cancer Support Program. Pictured with him in his Albany Avenue shop is Denise Rivera, coordinator of the DIVAS program.    

Hartford beauty supply store owner Jangwon Son had never heard of the Hispanic Health Council when Denise Rivera called him to inquire about wigs for her cancer program clients. But somehow, the chance introduction seemed meant to be.
     Son, an immigrant from Korea, who owns Hair City in Hartford’s North End, had just packed up several boxes of surplus wigs and was thinking about where he might donate them.
     The devastating earthquake had just struck Haiti, so he thought of that first. Then he thought again. “They don’t need wigs,’’ he said. At about the same time, the phone rang in his cramped, but neatly organized shop at 1291 Albany Ave.
     Rivera, coordinator of the DIVAS Latina Cancer Support Program at the Hispanic Health Council was calling to ask if the shop accepted health insurance payments from cancer patients who needed wigs.
      For her clients enduring chemotherapy, the shock of losing their hair was often the saddest and most terrifying part of cancer treatment. One woman said she cried in the morning when she woke up to find clumps of hair on her pillow. Now, Rivera had two clients who faced a double indignity. They were bald and could not afford a wig because they were impoverished and insurance would not pay.
      Son had found a cause.
     Four years earlier, Son’s aunt had died of breast cancer at the age of 46. His voice catches a little when he remembers her. She was the youngest of his mother’s seven siblings. She shared Jangwon Son’s love of art and passed along to him her eye for beauty, which she noticed in everything from nature to the tag sale bargains she turned into treasures.
     “I really loved my aunt,’’ Son said.
     In late February, Son donated about 75 new wigs to the DIVAS Latina Cancer Support Program.  One client has already been fitted with a wig of long, dark hair, similar to what she lost to her cancer treatment. Rivera said the fitting was combined with a makeover provided by Look Good, Feel Better, a non-profit program that helps women use cosmetics to overcome the appearance-related side effects of cancer treatment. The woman left the Hispanic Health Council feeling beautiful, Rivera said.
      Rivera said it has been difficult to find words to express her gratitude to Son, who said he is prepared to make further donations to the DIVAS program in the future.
      Son said he has many healthy customers who purchase wigs at his shop for cosmetic reasons and many others who have lost their hair during to cancer treatment. He said he has long been looking for a way to give something back to the community and to his loyal clientele.
      “Anytime I see anybody who needs a wig for losing hair, I try to help,’’ Son said.