Francesca Battaglia and Ava Rogha sat down with Kaz Foncette, breast cancer survivor and founder of Wigs for Heroes
Kaz Foncette is a 32-year-old breast cancer survivor and founder of the charity, Wigs for Heroes. Foncette was diagnosed with cancer on May 2nd 2017. There were several symptoms leading up to her diagnosis, the main one being exhaustion. She had also found a lump in her breast the size of a split boiled egg, shortly before her first mammogram.
Foncette dealt with her breast cancer by recording diary entries and creating to-do lists on a daily basis. She also sought support from her husband, who made her feel like she didn’t have to hide anything from people, and her mother, who cooked Foncette’s favourite meal for her every single night. Foncette, of a Turkish background, mentions that in her mother’s culture cancer is usually a private matter known only to close family members.
Foncette agreed to chemotherapy, but was only given a poor quality free wig when she lost her hair. The price of a good wig on the open market inspired her to establish her own charity to raise money for women to have higher quality wigs, for monthly pamper boxes, and for hosting makeovers. The money to get the charity going was raised through Go Fund Me and a Macmillan Coffee Morning.
Wigs For Heroes connects to people as human beings instead of “cancer patients”. The charity’s next goal is to raise ten thousand pounds so Foncette can start giving out grants to women in need. She is highly committed to spreading awareness and sharing her cancer/ life after cancer experience through Wigs For Heroes, her blogging and on Instagram.
Foncette’s message to cancer patients is, “You’re never alone. There is a massive community out there and we all support one and other. Live in the present. If you want to go out for a walk, go out for a walk.
“Take one step at a time – One day at a time and make a memory a day.”
You can find Kaz on her Instagram page.
You can also find her charity: Wigs for Heroes on their Instagram page.
