Martha Hickey, the Manager of the Elevate Salon and the 11 Day Power Play Cancer Resource Center recently spent some time with Cosmetology students at the Niagara Career and Technical Education Center. She talked to the classes of Pauline Carney, Erica Cook and Jill Fisher about her career with the healthcare facility and working with cancer patients. “I originally worked at Kaleida Health, Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo and then took a job at Roswell Park as a Patient Educator in the Resource Center for Patient and Families.”
The Elevate Salon and The 11 Day Power Play Cancer Resource Center is on the first floor of the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center’s main hospital. “The Resource Center is a soft place to land after a cancer diagnosis,” she says. The staff, along with about 20 volunteers provide support to patients navigating after their diagnosis. “We sit down one on one with patients and their caregivers and provide customized resources for them.” One of those resources is the Elevate Salon. Martha had a vision of the salon as a calming space where patients could feel pampered and get advice on cosmetic concerns. “We were fortunate enough to receive funding from the generous donations from the 11 Day Power Play, the Buffalo Sabres, the West Herr Automotive Group, Michael and Michelle Gacioch and the Zeron Foundation. We talk to patients about what is going to happen to their hair and help them choose the right wig or head covering. We then personalize the wig fittings and have styling appointments so they can look and feel their best. We think it helps them feel a sense of control and gives them some special attention.”
She shared with the classes, “They are undergoing chemotherapy and it affects their body from their hair, nails, skin and their GI system like their mouth and lips. Many lose their eyebrows and eyelashes. Once they start their treatments they usually lose their hair in 15 days. It takes two weeks for every hair to fall out which can be quite devastating. We help them feel like they have control of what is happening to them.”
The wigs are very high quality with the low end being around $1,200. “The grant money pays for them and they don’t look wiggy and we help them chose a style and trim it to specifications. We are also fortunate that Kristine Koch from Nickel City Spa and Boutique comes in and helps them with their eyebrow stencils, hand and nail care and facials. She is an oncology trained esthetician. She also teaches them about scalp care because there is so much sensitivity and irritation during hair fallout. It can also be painful when it starts to grow back in.”
Hickey then had student and teacher volunteers come up to sit in the chair as she showed the students the process of putting on the different wigs and how they are styled. She concluded her talk by telling the students it takes a special stylist and cosmetologist to work with the patients. “You have to have a lot of compassion and kindness and be able to work with men and women of all ages. But it is incredibly rewarding to work with this clientele and seeing how good this makes them feel when they are going through something pretty horrible.” Teacher Jill Fisher says she and the other Cosmetology teachers are grateful for Martha taking time out of her schedule to talk to the students. “I think it really opened the students’ eyes to new career possibilities and was very educational.”