LOVE IS IN THE HAIR

Hair and heart come together as the Breast Cancer Foundation's wig loan programme, launched in 2005, helps people regain their identity and a sense of normalcy — one strand of hair at a time.

- Neo Xiaobin Senior Executive Photojournalist

In a small room painted in shades of pink, a stylist gently adjusts a wig on Madam Dwi Rahayu's head.

Madam Dwi, a 54-year-old breast cancer survivor, is surrounded by mannequin heads displaying wigs in a range of styles, which silently bear witness to the stories of countless women who have stood in the same spot, confronting their own reflections after cancer treatment.

Hair loss is one of the most visible signs of cancer treatment.

The Breast Cancer Foundation's (BCF) Positive Image Room in Sin Ming Avenue was designed to help survivors navigate one of the quieter battles of recovery - rebuilding their confidence after the physical toll of cancer treatment.

Here, women try on wigs under the social service agency's complimentary loan programme, which started in 2005.

Beyond the wigs and accessories, the programme offers something less tangible but far more powerful: dignity, reassurance and the reminder that beauty and strength can coexist, even after loss.

Madam Dwi is one of the many who have found solace through the programme.

When she felt a small lump in her right breast during a routine company health screening in August 2024, she did not think much of it at first. She was not in pain, and life was moving along as usual - taking daily walks, going to her maintenance job as an engineering specialist at an American manufacturing company, and spending time with her husband.

Just two months later, on Oct 16, she was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer.