This month is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Hair loss from chemotherapy and radiation can affect cancer patients in many ways.

Not only does it negatively impact their self-image, but buying and maintaining wigs can become a financial burden.

The stepping stones program at Ashland Community and Technical College wants to help ease that burden by providing free wigs and consultation to those experiencing hair loss from cancer treatment.

Stepping Stones program is a program within our cosmetology department here at HTC.

The program is for cancer patients that are going through chemo, radiation that are maybe getting ready to go through if they've just gotten a diagnosis.

This program allows them to come in.

They are in a private room where a student comes in and they talk about what type of wig they would like color cut.

They try on the wigs and those patients titled Waiting for You at cost.

From a person on your forehead just to pull it down.

It's been really good.

I had I had me a client that come in here and to her blond wigs.

So like, she was like, I don't care what you give me as long as the blond one.

So, like, that was very exciting to see, like her getting, you know, her new hair.

Zoraida, an identity like this is what makes us us, in my opinion.

I really feel like that like hair is everything.

They could have had our hair had fuller hair, you know, And then just all day one day don't have it no more.

So, like, that would be a great experience to get a new wig and have their identity somewhat back.

For students, I think it's a good impact for them was also a good experience for them to work with people that are having medical issues that involve hair loss because they're not going to work with it on a day to day basis.

So for them to be able to have that experience and work closely with those patients, it makes a big impact.

They actually depend highly on the community for donations, whether that be wigs that they've donated from family or their own students coming in.

And they also get the education experience on how to shampoo those and style those.

So they're not only working with the patients are also working behind the scenes to make sure that that wig and in tip top shape, we don't necessarily have to have a referral from physician.

We just kind of I feel like cancer is a very sensitive subject and I myself, the Seventh Downs program is very personal to me because my mother and my father both passed from cancer.

So we kind of take their word for not to ask too many questions.

We just want this to be an easy, calm, smooth experience so that we can kind of help and take the burden burden of not only the financial cost of work because they can be expensive, but also maybe just a moment to themselves to just relax and be calm and be able to be in the moment and experience the wigs.

Participants in the Stepping Stones program receive two wigs each and can bring them back to the school to be washed and styled at any time, free of charge.