Comical Chronicles

Stories of humor, resilience, and humanity from women navigating cancer on their own terms.

Wigged Out

I’ll never forget the summer that we were in Yosemite. I was in the midst of chemotherapy and bald as a bat. Before I lost my hair, I bought a bunch of scarves and a hip ash blond wig that my husband nick-named “Sandy.” But I never really wore those scarves, thinking that everyone would look at me with pity in their eyes. And when it came to the wig, I decided that I might wear it on special occasions; but given the choice, my vanity came second to my need for comfort. Why spend all day wearing what felt like a hot, itchy hat on my head? Instead, I opted for a cool, low-maintenance bald summer look and wore it with pride.

So, while at Yosemite, I was standing on the steps of the swimming pool at our lodge in all my bald glory, when a seemingly unconscious pre-pubescent girl walked up to me and asked, “Hey lady, why don’t you have any hair?” Annoyed by her lack of tact and inclined to soften awkward moments with humor, I decided to throw her a curve ball. After staring at her curiously for a moment, I slowly put my hand to my head, dropped my jaw, and screamed.

─Jen

Jennifer Omholt is the author of Just Diagnosed: A Survivor’s Guide to Navigating Cancer. A longtime journalist and 24-year cancer survivor, she writes about the emotional, practical, and medical challenges faced during the critical first weeks after diagnosis.