Chemo Buddies is celebrating the grand opening of Karen’s Wig Shop, a place where women facing cancer can come to receive a free wig and other beauty related services. “Hair loss is by far one of the most traumatic side effects of chemo,” said founder Jill Kincaid, “and most people are shocked to find that wigs can cost anywhere from $50 to thousands of dollars. Through the years of our service in the treatment room, we’ve heard the same story over and over again about how hard it is to find an affordable wig that fits with their overall look. Today we are so proud to open one of the finest wig shops in our area and be able to offer a peace-filled experience to the ladies in our community facing cancer. To be able to do so at no charge is nothing short of miraculous, and we thank God for blessing us with the supplies and sponsors who made this possible. To our knowledge, this is the only facility of its kind in the country, and we are proud to once again be the first.”

“My sister Karen was traumatized by her own wig experience and it was her dream to open a wig shop to make that part of the journey easier for the other women facing cancer. We are so excited to launch this new service in her honor and bearing her name,” said Kincaid. “Both hospitals have donated new wigs to get us started, and we also have a sizeable inventory of gently used wigs from previous patients. We offer this service by appointment only so that each woman has complete privacy and can feel comfortable trying on the different styles. We are able to give them 100% of our attention and do everything we can to put them at ease and try to make them feel as beautiful and as pampered as possible. I know that my sister Karen would be very proud of what we’ve put together.”

Karen’s Wig Shop joins the extended line of Chemo Buddies signature programs which includes treatment room volunteers, Shuttle Buddies – which provides free rides to cancer patients to and from treatment, Student Buddies – where area schools engage students in how they can make a difference, The Mermaid Squad – our summer program where ladies can escape for a little fun, and our premiere event HOPEFEST – which is the largest cancer community event in our region and will take place in Friedman Park on August 14.

For more information, please go to our website at ChemoBuddies.org. To schedule a one-on-one wig appointment time for cancer patients, please call our office at 812-598-7910. If you would like to donate a wig, breast prosthetic, or any other accessory, we would love to have them and you can call the above number or email info@chemobuddies.org. We also have a no-contact donation box at the back of our building that is available 24/7. Financial donations are also always welcome.

The Chemo Buddies Story By Jill Kincaid

 My sister Karen was a very strong woman, and she was determined to beat cancer. She was also a very private person and didn’t like talking about the disease or her prognosis. So, when she told me I could go with her to chemotherapy, I was grateful to be “let in,” and happy to keep her company. I told her I would be her buddy for every treatment and that together we would get through this. Whatever the future held, we were in it together. What is chemo like? Imagine going to your doctor’s office for a procedure and sitting alone in a large room for 4-8 hours with nothing to occupy your mind except periodic visits from your nurse. Tethered to your IV, moving around is not easy, and the silence of the room leaves your mind to wander. 

Silent waiting with an occasional dose of fear: this is the treatment life of a typical chemo patient. It is easy to see the toll that chemo can take on a person’s emotional and spiritual well-being in addition to the physical demands. 

Karen HATED chemo. Chemo can kill cancer, but it is a horrible ordeal. As we sat there week after week in the chemo treatment room, we began to notice that many patients were sitting alone. Karen began asking me to help take care of the other people around her in the treatment room. (And by asking, I mean she used her ultimate big sister authority voice and TOLD me to do it, lol) Whether they needed a blanket, a drink or help of any kind, if you were at chemo on the same day as Karen, you got to share her buddy. 

It occurred to us that some simple changes could make this day so much better. We wanted to create a different environment for the treatment room — one where time doesn’t stand still — a room that is less fearful and more life giving. So, Karen and I co-wrote a proposal to her oncologist that would allow volunteers into the chemo room to serve patients as companions and patient helpers. Since there are no televisions there, we also suggested providing a lending library of iPads. 

The organization was founded in the state of Indiana on August 22, 2011 and in January 2012, I put on my yellow apron and began the Chemo Buddies journey. Our motto, that Karen wrote, is, “Because no one should ever have to go through chemo alone.” We now have more than 70,000 patient contacts in a year. The need is so much greater than Karen and I could ever have imagined. 

Karen passed away on July 25, 2011, from Triple Negative Breast Cancer, so she never got to see our dream become reality. When a patient stops me to tell me what a difference we are making in the treatment room, my heart smiles. To me, this program is creating a living legacy to the kindness of my sister Karen. In the midst of her darkest hour, she was worrying about the others around her who had no one. Both the patients beside her at the time, and the ones yet to come.