“Dr. Varnado, particularly, was very optimistic,” Janet said. “This is a wonderful doctor. He was very caring. He was giving us some bad news, but he did it in a way that we felt calm and we felt he was going to help us the whole way. And he did.”
That patient-doctor relationship is a key component of any treatment plan at the Cancer Center. Beyond providing the most advanced cancer care in the region, Mary Bird Perkins team members make it their goal to get to know their patients on a personal level – something that provides comfort during what can be a difficult journey.
That support did not end after Janet successfully finished treatment. Beyond treatment, she went to Dr. Varnado for help in addressing a side effect of her chemotherapy.
“On my first after-care appointment with Dr. Varnado, my hair had started to return but it was coming in completely different,” Janet recalled. “I was asking him, ‘what do I do with this?’”
To that end, Dr. Varnado knew just what he could offer Janet. Recently, an initiative launched that began when he contemplated how the Cancer Center could support patients with additional tools to boost their image and self-confidence after hair loss. Under his direction, Mary Bird Perkins enlisted the help of Rachel Eggie Gibbs, owner of Baton Rouge’s EGGIE salon studio, to provide patients with a post-chemotherapy haircut and styling experiencing. The service helps teach patients the best techniques and options for styling and working with hair that may be different following treatment.
“I told [Rachel] the story of my patient and what I thought we could do better,” Dr. Varnado said. “I think their journey with chemotherapy and cancer in general doesn’t end whenever their treatment ends. It’s the emotional after-burden and support that comes after that. A big part of that is growing their hair back.”
Rachel was immediately on board with this partnership.
Janet was one of the first patients Dr. Varnado recommended for the post-chemo experience. Rachel personally welcomed her to the studio and provided the haircut and styling appointment herself. It provided Janet with the understanding and confidence to handle her returning hair – something that wasn’t there before. Plus, she loved her new look!
“After the haircut, I think I had a huge smile because I felt like, ‘oh ok, this actually looks good, I can do something with this,’” Janet said. “It was very uplifting.”
For Rachel, she also finds the partnership rewarding. Knowing something as simple as a hair appointment can change a person’s outlook and self-esteem. For her salon, they feel it’s the least they can do.
“They can come to us as a resource for one thing,” Rachel said. “For some it’s little, for others it’s a huge thing. It affects their identity, it affects their self-confidence. It’s more than just a haircut.”