A WIRRAL mum diagnosed with breast cancer hopes to ease the pain of hair loss by setting up her very own wig library for women in need.

When Jane Dabner found a lump in her breast in May she knew times ahead would be tough but instead of letting her illness take over her life, she set her sights on helping others going through the same thing.

After going through the inevitable hair loss, the 52-year-old from Bebington was tasked with getting her first wig, something she says is more traumatic than it should be.

“After going through the trauma of hair loss, I felt that I and many other ladies weren’t treated very well when it came to picking a wig,” explained the mother-of-two.

“It’s just so frustrating because I think what’s happening is wig providers don’t think about the trauma that you are going through at the time when you are choosing a wig, they’re more worried about selling the wig than anything else.

“It hasn’t been a very nice experience for any of us and it should be.”

Determined to make a difference, Jane got in touch with the Maggie’s Centre at Clatterbridge Hospital and with their support, is setting up her own Wig Library charity.

Jane said: “What I imagine is that there are ladies who have been through this but have got wigs stuffed in their closets and although it acts as a reminder, they can’t let go of them.

“But I just feel if they donated them to the Wig Library it would also enable other ladies to use them and what I want to do is set up a nice environment where you can go and try the wigs on and speak to other people who are going through the same thing.”

Although Jane’s Wig Library is still in the early stages, she hopes people will get on board.

She said: “I’ve got a venue – the Maggie’s Centre set they would love for me to go there and I’m just asking people now to donate their wigs.

“It just need to be a nice experience and I thought if ladies can go somewhere where they feel comfortable, it can make it fun.”

Jane added: “I don’t want anybody else to have to go through that horrible trauma that I did. You are getting the wig at a time when you haven’t quite lost your hair so it’s hard to imagine what it’s going to be like.

“But at the Wig Library they women can try different wigs on and we can make it a good experience for them. Then they don’t have to buy the wigs, they can take them and bring them back when they’ve finished with them.

“People might not want to let go of their wigs once they’ve come through cancer but I think that it will help them to move on.”

Jane has recently finished her last round of chemotherapy but still has a long way to go before her treatment is over.

“One in eight women in the UK have got breast cancer.

“I’m one of the lucky ones because the doctors can deal with mine but there are ladies that I meet regularly at the hospital who are not so lucky but they are all amazing - there’s so many positive people there.”

  • Anyone who wants to donate a wig can do so by taking them to the Maggie’s Centre at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre, Clatterbridge Road, Bebington, Wirral, CH63 4JY or to the Globe, Haymarket Court, Hinson Street, Birkenhead, CH41 5BX, and we will pass them on to Jane.