Cancer patients who are dealing with hair loss can receive a free wig, and be fitted during a Zoom session without leaving their homes, thanks to Allegheny Health Network Cancer Institute’s Virtual Wig Salon.
The only program of its kind in the region, the Virtual Wig Salon has fitted 63 patients with wigs since its inception in March and is open to AHN and non-AHN cancer patients at no charge. The wigs are donated by the American Cancer Society.
The Virtual Wig Salon began as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Some types of cancer, and treatments for cancer, can damage patients’ immune cells, leaving them more at risk of contracting viruses such as COVID-19. They may also be at risk for more severe symptoms such as respiratory distress and pneumonia.
Out of an abundance of caution, the fittings will remain virtual through 2021, with plans to open in-person fittings in 2022.
The Virtual Wig Salon is staffed by trained volunteers who are experienced in selecting and fitting wigs for patients.
To schedule an appointment with the Virtual Wig Salon, email [email protected]. Include your name, phone number and color and length of wig you’d like, or indicate that you would like help picking a wig.
About Allegheny Health Network – and the AHN Cancer Institute
Allegheny Health Network, a Highmark Health Company, is a western Pennsylvania-based integrated healthcare system that serves patients from across a five-state region that includes western Pennsylvania and the adjacent regions of Ohio, West Virginia, Maryland, and New York. The Network’s Cancer Institute employs more than 200 physicians and 500 oncology professionals who provide a complete spectrum of oncology care at 24 affiliated oncology clinics, including access to state-of-the-art technologies and new therapies being explored in hundreds of clinical cancer trials. The Cancer Institute has the only cancer program in the Pittsburgh region accredited as an Integrated Network Cancer Program by the American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, and its radiation oncology program is the largest in the country accredited by the American Society for Radiation Oncology. AHN Cancer Institute is a Quality Oncology Practice Initiative certified practice, and is accredited by the Foundation for Accreditation of Cellular Therapy, National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers and the National Accreditation Program for Rectal Cancer. AHN also has a formal affiliation with the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, one of the nation’s 41 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute, for research, medical education and clinical services.
