Ms. Poirazi said she became aware of the issue of cancer when her brother’s wife died of a rare type of the disease while pregnant and she took it upon herself to raise his child, who was left motherless.
Within five years, the hairdresser from Soho, Fani Poirazis, managed to collect one hundred strands of hair, in order to make wigs, which will be distributed to women with cancer, who have lost their hair.
Her goal is to collect ten more.
As part of an informative event on breast cancer, which will be held at the Sochos Indoor Municipal Theater on October 18, the braids will be donated to the Association of Women with Breast Cancer of Thessaloniki Prefecture “Alma Zois”. Lagada municipality also participates in the action to support women with cancer, in collaboration with Soho businesses, while those interested in donating hair can call 6944151876 and 6948784278.
Mrs. Poirazi, speaking to APE-MPE, said that she became aware of the issue of cancer when her brother’s wife died of a rare type of the disease while she was pregnant and she took it upon herself to raise his child, who was orphaned by a mother.
“It was shocking that my daughter-in-law died so suddenly, without us being able to do anything. I have the child he left an orphan as my third child. Since then I became aware of the issue of cancer. I have been a hairdresser for 37 years. I was always called in to shave people going through chemotherapy. It is very difficult to go to clients, to new girls, to shave heads and to feel despair and hopelessness. But from all of this I kept only hope and when I left I begged God that everyone would get well”, notes Mrs. Poirazi.
From all of this, her idea to collect 100 pigtails started, and her son Giannis Athanasakolgou helped her in this, who, in the barber shop he owns in Polichni, Thessaloniki, managed to collect 25 pigtails from boys.
“I decided that the only thing I could do, out of respect, for those people who got cancer, was to collect pigtails and give them to be made into wigs. I started collecting pigtails from small children. I already have the 100 braids, because it’s a five-year effort. I just want to make more now. I always addressed mothers with small children and when I told the purpose for which I collect the braids the response was awesome. Imagine, the youngest child who gave his hair is four years old. When I managed to make the braids 100 I decided to announce that I have them. The braids are from small children, teenagers, girls and boys. I collected 75 braids and my son brought another 25. On Tuesday, when the event will take place, I hope to make 110 braids“, added Mrs. Poirazi.
It should be noted that the Panhellenic Association of Women with Breast Cancer “Alma Zois” has been carrying out the hair donation program “Give Strength” for eight years, with the aim of providing wigs to female cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. By last August, she had managed to collect more than 73,200 braids, while 960 women had already received their own wig through this program.
The president of the Association of Women with Breast Cancer “Alma Zois” of the Prefecture of Thessaloniki, Koula Derekenari, speaking to APE-MPE, noted that anyone can donate his/her hair to be made into wigs and distributed to patients undergoing chemotherapy and losing their hair. A condition for donating one’s hair is that it must be over 20 cm and be natural, i.e. not dyed and not subjected to any chemical treatment.
“Alma Zois” provides wigs for free via an online platform to female cancer patients, unemployed, uninsured or economically weak. We send them to our members for free by courier, to non-members we send them again for free, they just bear the shipping costs”, added Mrs. Derekenari.
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