A city hairdresser who specialises in cutting wigs for cancer sufferers has donated more than £1,200 to cancer services at Nottingham University Hospitals.
Andrew Sutherland, joint director of Sutherland and Barnett in Fletcher Gate, gave the money to Nottingham University Hospitals Charity after holding fundraising events last October.
The £1,287 will be split between the Breast Institute and the Chemotherapy Clinic, both at the City Hospital campus.
Andrew, 52, attended the Breast Institute yesterday (January 27th) to give a demonstration to members of staff. He spent almost an hour cutting a wig, modelled by his colleague, Jodie Hibbard, to show what a difference it can make to have a wig personalised.
Explaining how he began cutting wigs for cancer sufferers, Andrew said: “I had a client who had been coming to me for years and unfortunately she was diagnosed with breast cancer in November 2008. She had surgery and then chemotherapy, and she started to lose her hair in about February 2009.
“Around that time, the top hairdresser Trevor Sorbie started the charity ‘My New Hair’, to teach hairdressers how to cut wigs and how to deal with cancer patients for their hairdressing needs.
“So I went on this course, as cutting a wig is different from cutting hair. Cutting a wig is much more visual – you don’t really follow the same process. So, we chose my client a wig and we cut this wig, because wigs are very good nowadays but it is still not your wig, it’s just a wig.”
Andrew, who also has clients who suffer from alopecia, said having a personalised wig could help people who suffer from medical hair loss regain their confidence.
He said: “Women who have lost their hair just want to feel like normal people again and get their femininity back.
“As a hairdresser, it’s very difficult to give something back to the community. My skills are cutting hair, but what I can do is help people like my client to regain their self-esteem.
“For some people, the hair loss is almost more important than the cancer. I’ve had people say to me that they would prefer not to lave treatment than to lose their hair.”
Andrew presented the cheque for £1,287 to Nottingham University Hospitals Charity, which exists to support the work that takes place at Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) Queen’s Medical Centre and City Hospital campuses.
Donations to the charity are used to enhance patient care at NUH by providing specialist equipment, medical research and staff training.
To see an article about Sutherland and Barnett’s donation in the Nottingham Evening Post, go to www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/news/Hairdresser-donates-163-1-000-cancer-services/article-1780534-detail/article.html
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