My name is Sophia Loizia, I was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer called Hodgkin’s Lymphoma at the young age of 16 years old in May 2008. When finding out I had cancer the first thing that came to my mind was the thought of losing my hair, it actually broke my heart. As it would to any girl my hair meant a lot to me, more than I could possibly explain.
My hair started to fall out just 10 days into my chemotherapy treatment, which for Cancer patients can be seen as considerably early. When my hair started to fall out it didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would. It started to fall out on the Tuesday, by Friday I had it cut into to a little bob and by Sunday I made the brave decision to shave
it all off, this was very hard but the constant headache and pain of my hair falling out meant it was too uncomfortable so I felt this was the best solution.
That Monday I started to wear a wig given to me through the NHS, this wig was ok and I was very grateful for it; however it would constantly itch, was very uncomfortable and made my face sweat a lot. I gradually went from a bubbly, confident and smiley girl into someone who was always depressed and hated looking in the mirror, it got to the stage where I would miss parties and social events with my friends because it was obvious I was wearing a wig.
August came and I was at my lowest, the side effects from my chemotherapy had really started to kick in, my legs were weak, I was becoming increasingly unfit and the weight was piling on, not mention I still had no hair. My social worker noticed that I wasn’t the Sophia she met three months ago, she had heard of Teens Unite who support teenagers like myself to overcome our conditions and life threatening illnesses. She contacted them and they invited me to spend some time with other teenagers like myself, they took us to Kylie’s concert which was fantastic and I was able to bring a friend with me. After seeing how much my hair affected me, Debbie from Teens Unite put me forward for a grant to get WHITE CLIFFS Hair System which we applied for.
I had a call from Debbie soon after to tell me I had been accepted, I couldn’t believe it! Before I knew it I had a consultation booked with Michelle at the Green Park Branch. I remember walking up the stairs of the building and thinking to myself what Hair System is going to make me feel the way I felt before all my hair fell out. I have to admit I was very unsure and negative about this all, however as soon as I met Michelle and the rest of the fabulous team at WHITE CLIFFS, my mind was soon put at ease. They were so understanding, sensitive and really knew about my condition and the side effects I was undergoing. One of the Hair System Specialists took all the measurements of my scalp, head and hair line and made a mould out of it. I then chose the colour I wanted and gave them pictures of my old hair before it fell out and the consultation was all done. They sent it all off and the Hair System was on my head within about a month and a half.
After having the Hair System fitted, it took about a day to get used to, but after that I didn’t even realise I was wearing someone else’s hair. After months of wearing a wig and being bald, I actually felt a bit like me again. The Hair System felt like my own hair, looked like my own hair and I can even wash and put heat on it like my own hair. By wearing this, I started to gain my confidence back, when I go out now I don’t have to worry about my wig falling off or having to always adjust so that it’s in the right place because it is so secure, what can I say I love it!
The White Cliff’s Hair System is definitely an extremely amazing invention and probably the best thing since sliced bread, I would recommend this to anyone with alopecia, going through cancer or even general Hair Loss. It has brought my confidence back and put a smile back on my face. I just want to thank everyone at White Cliff’s for all the hard work they put into my Hair System. Thank you.