Sisterhood of Support: A New Zealand Woman Shaved Her Head in Solidarity with Her Sister, Who was Diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

The sisters live in New Zealand, where Joanna was seeking chemotherapy treatment alone in the hospital since COVID-19 restrictions did not allow for visitors. Joella was only able to interact with her sister via video calls or messages, making Joanna’s treatment particularly difficult, without her family by her side.

Joanna decided to shave her head, as hair loss is a side effect of chemotherapy so many cancer patients receiving chemotherapy opt to shave their heads prior to absolute hair loss. Joella would not allow Joanna to go through this alone so they shaved their heads together, as documented in Joella’s moving facebook post above. The roughly three minute long video depicts how affected Joanna and her family members are when shaving her hair as several people help shave Joanna and Joella. In the facebook post, which was shared 157,000 times, Joella speaks to her sister’s bravery through it all, knowing that God and their grandpa are with her every step of the way.

Hair loss During Chemotherapy Treatment

RELATED: Chemotherapy Side Effects – Hair Loss

Hair loss is a difficult but unfortunately common side effect of chemotherapy. However, this hair loss is temporary. The hair loss begins three to four weeks after chemotherapy treatment starts and persists during the course of treatment. Hair regrowth begins around four to six weeks after treatment completion. Patients may even experience some changes to hair color and texture when it begins growing back.
Hair loss can be a strenuous matter to deal with alone, especially during COVID-19 when cancer patients are usually getting treatment alone, but for patients like Joanna that have the support of their family, it makes a world of difference.

RELATED: The Family That Buzzes Their Heads Together Stays Together

 

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