‘I Had a Hat Party at My House!’ – Louisville Resident Cheri Hauber’s Ovarian Cancer Survivor Story

The next morning, nine of Cheri's friends showed up at her house with rakes and blowers to finish the job she'd started. "I just stood at the door and cried. I was so grateful for my friends helping me out."

And then there was the hair loss. Cheri thought she was prepared. "I lost my hair between my second and third round of chemo," she says. "I went to my hairdresser and had her clip my hair very shortmaybe an inch or so."

But clipping her hair didn't stop her scalp from burning, or even what was left of her hair from falling out. "And when it was falling out, it felt like my head was sunburned, like if you went to the beach on a scorching day." Her hair burned when she was in the shower and fell out all over her pillow. "That's when I got out the dog shears and had my wife shave my head down."

For Cheri, a wig wasn't the solution. "I only wore it one time because it felt uncomfortable." And that, says Cheri, "is when a really cool thing happened!"

Hauber's sister-in-law Eileen is a surgical nurse, and another nurse suggested she throw a hat party for Cheri. Intrigued, Eileen asked for more information and then decided to make the party. "And I swear to god I got 35 to 40 different hats," says Cheri happily.

With no need for the uncomfortable wig any more, Cheri started matching her hats to the outfits she was wearing to work every day. "And all the guys at work would come in just to see what hat I was wearing that day. It was pretty cool."

Throwing a party to "celebrate" hair loss doesn't seem like the obvious choice, but it helped get Cheri through chemo. And every day she wears one of the hats from her new collection she can think of the good friends who are supporting her through her cancer journey.

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