Cancer patient’s courage sends friends, family to hair salon
1/27/10 | 20 comments
Lopping Locks

Cancer patient’s courage sends friends, family to hair salon


By Nok-Noi Ricker
BDN Staff
BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY BRIDGET BROWN
Family and friends of Holden resident and Fort Kent native Velma Caron (not pictured) who is currently undergoing cancer treatment, shaved their heads at Caron's daughter, Donna Papa's salon on Monday evening, Jan. 25, 2010 in Brewer. Showing their support for Caron are (from top left) her grandsons Shawn Bouchard and Travis Wood, her son Greg Caron (top right), family friend Micah Raymond (facing away from camera), son-in-law Joe White and great-grandson Parker Bouchard, 5 months, whose head was not actually shaved. Buy Photo

BREWER, Maine — When family and friends of Velma Caron learned that she would probably lose her hair in a fight against liver cancer, they decided to support her by shaving their heads.

“They wanted to do something,” her daughter, Beverly Caron, of Bangor, said on Tuesday.

Velma, 71, is a mother of six, and “memere” to 11 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who live in and around Bangor. She and her husband, Valier Caron, 77, who both speak French at home, spent their lives in Fort Kent — she working as a cook and he for the state — before moving to Holden six years ago to be closer to children and grandchildren now living in this area.

She found out in December that a lump on her side is cancerous, and two weeks ago, on Jan. 13, she had her first round of chemotherapy. Her second treatment was Tuesday.

“It was just that fast,” her husband of 53 years said Tuesday of the diagnosis and start of treatment.

Velma Caron knows the battle for her life will not be easy. She has lost her father and two siblings to the “C” word and has a sister who lives with the disease. It was her sister who told her not to wait for the chemotherapy drugs to steal away her hair.

“My sister, she said, ‘Cut it yourself,’” Velma Caron said on Tuesday as she sat in a room at the Lafayette Family Cancer Center in Brewer while attached to a machine slowly pumping her with drugs designed to kill her cancer.

So the cancer patient did just that and shaved her head on Sunday.

“I cut my hair before it could fall out,” she said wearing a wig similar to her natural hairstyle. “I knew it was coming.”

“She took control,” Beverly Caron said of her mother.

Then, “My brother, Gregory Caron, said, ‘Mom, I’m going to shave my head too,’” she said. “Then, everybody said let’s do it and it kind of snowballed from there.”

Twelve of Caron’s relatives and friends on Monday shaved their heads, colored their hair, or cut their hair and made donations to Locks of Love at Brewer hair salon Designs by Donna, which is owned by Velma Caron’s daughter Donna Papa. Another daughter, Elaine White, of Eddington, who is a hair stylist also helped.

“Brothers, sisters, sons-in-laws, grandkids, nephews and nieces,” participated, along with family friends, said Beverly Caron. “Cancer is just devastating to families. We’re all doing our part.”

Brewer High School senior Travis Wood, a grandson, cut off around 4 inches of his hair, which “almost was enough to donate to Locks of Love,” which takes donated hair and makes wigs for cancer patients, she said.

The youngest to shave his head was grandson Logan White, 10, of Eddington.

“Now we feel like we’re doing something,” said daughter Rena Toomey, who lives in Holden but works as a nurse for Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor.

During her chemotherapy on Tuesday, Velma Caron, who was too sick to attend the Monday hair cutting extravaganza, was shown photos of the event.

“They all look so different,” she said, wearing a crystal angel on her blue sweater and a smile on her face. “I have a very supportive family.”

“You’re not alone,” her husband said.

A second hair shaving event in support of Velma Caron’s fight against cancer — this time by family and friends in Fort Kent — already is in the planning stage.

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Comments
20 comments on this item
On 1/26/10 at 10:12 PM, firefly wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Talk about a family that sticks together. Good luck Velma. Fort Kent known for it's character. Just love it. Something about the valley people. It never leaves you even when you leave. Best wishes to all of you.

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On 1/26/10 at 10:22 PM, CPSLady wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

best of luck to Velma.

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On 1/26/10 at 10:58 PM, Imperceptus wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Good luck Velma. My wife is fighting breast cancer, perhaps we'll bump into you at Cancer Care.

Early on, I offered to shave my hair (at least, what I have left) in solidarity with her, but my wife wouldn't let me. Different strokes for different folks, eh? As soon as her hair began falling out, she had me shave her head. The dread of losing her hair, and seeing it fall out, were far worse than actually not having hair. Once she was bald, she felt fine about it.

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On 1/27/10 at 12:59 AM, lonelyinbangor wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

God Bless and bonne chance! Son agréable de voir ce genre d'amour maintenant des jours!! Family means everything and with out that we have notinig, you are in my thoughts and prayers, vous et toute votre famille!!

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On 1/27/10 at 5:06 AM, nwoods wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

We wish you all the best Velma...our prayers are with you. Sounds like you have an amazing support system with the love of family and friends.

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On 1/27/10 at 7:19 AM, conniehebert wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Dear Aunt Put and Uncle Dad and Family,

Good luck with evrything. I know what you guys are going through. You will over come this and you will win this fight against this. Your faith and all your support will help you get through this. My family and I will be praying for all of you. All our love to all of you.

Love ya Connie Bear and Peyton and Nicholas Hebert

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On 1/27/10 at 7:26 AM, bvcaron wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Love Ya - Me'mere! Jim

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On 1/27/10 at 8:52 AM, aroostookcountygurl wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

You go girl!! God bless you and your family in this journey. You have a wonderful family behind you. Prayers to all.

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On 1/27/10 at 10:24 AM, countryliving wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Velma, I am sending my thoughts your way. May God comfort, bless and lay His healing hands upon you. Walk in His light and let it cover you in love. You have a wonderful family. Love can be the best healer. Laugh as much as you can. That also will heal a weary heart. Never give up hope.

All the very best to you, Velma. I will be thinking of you!

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On 1/27/10 at 1:22 PM, linda00 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

What an uplifting story and what a supportive & loving family they have, so great to hear of the younger generations that has this much love for their grandmother she must be one marvelous jewel and they are so lucky to have her in their lives. Here to being all together for the next 25 years or longer.

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On 1/27/10 at 1:25 PM, Dennis wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Blessings to the entire family as you go through this very trying time.

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On 1/27/10 at 1:43 PM, Tracey wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

I LOVE the pic of all the men and the baby with bald heads...your family rocks ;-)

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On 1/27/10 at 4:16 PM, OpinionatedinMaine wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Thats a great thing for a family to do. I wish I had a family member that cared even half that much. I was diagnosed with Cancer back in November. Other than 1 person, I dont hear from anyone. Not my so called friends, not one word from one of my brothers and the other brother I hear from once a month if I am lucky. I am going through this all by myself so Ithink it is such a wonderful thing this family is doing for their loved one. I wish her all the best.

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On 1/27/10 at 4:24 PM, valgal10 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Great story, luck lady to have such a supportive family. You are in my thoughts and prayers...God Bless You.....

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On 1/27/10 at 5:33 PM, RolandFortKent wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

HI Velma, Long time no see. Great to see your smilling face, and the strenght of your family surrounding you. Draw your inspiration from them, and together you will all get through this. Take care Roland and Liz

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On 1/27/10 at 6:21 PM, Bob_from_Orland wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Great family. My mom did the same thing during her cancer treatment and took charge of her hair loss too. Nice to see a family doing something positive together to support a family member.

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On 1/27/10 at 6:23 PM, a_voisine wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Wow, Velma. What a great story! What a beautiful family you have to support you this way. You've been in our thoughts and prayers ever since we heard about your diagnosis and we'll continue to do so until you WIN your fight! Stay tough and remember all the people back home who care for you. Best wishes to you and your family. Lots of love, Alison

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On 1/27/10 at 7:20 PM, bouchard4 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

OpinionatedinMaine thank you for the comment on the article. I want to let you know that you are not alone through your battle. Yes we shaved our heads for our grandmother but also for all those other cancer patients who have to deal with this disease you included. So good luck to you and everyone else in the same boat as my grandmother. You are all in my thoughts and prayers. Shawn Bouchard

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On 1/27/10 at 8:11 PM, ftknt59 wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Velma, I remember working with you at Forest Hill and I will never forget your continuous smile. You are a wonderful lady with a great support system. You are truly loved. May God bless you on your journey of healing yourself. You and your family will be in my thoughts and prayers. Take care and we will keep you in our prayers. Love, Joni Albert Daigle

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On 1/28/10 at 6:19 AM, lovefishing wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Velma, what an incredibly, loving, supportive family you are blessed with. My prayers are with you, and all those who are fighting this battle, It CAN be won! God Bless you all. and Opinionated inMaine,, if you would like to have someone to email, chat, laugh, and cry with, I would love to be part of your support system, it saddens me deeply that you do not hear from your friends, or brothers, nobody should have to go through this alone. ,,

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