New Prague Woman Creates Realistic Wigs For Cancer Patients
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Cancer is a difficult diagnosis, and treatment often means losing your hair. But a New Prague woman is making sure that women who lose their hair don't lose their style.
Natalie Nyhus visited with the woman who's helping other women make their journey toward recovery a little easier.
Joni Tikalsky runs a small salon out of her house. In one room she cuts and colors. In another, she gives women back a part of their identity. Joni measures, fits and styles wigs to match a cancer patient's real hair.
"I can get pretty close," Tikalsky said.
Loretta Tuma is a survivor who remembers how her friend and hairstylist helped her hold onto a piece of her at a time when she felt she was losing everything.
"Joni did wonders with it," said Tuma. "She would even come to the house and come to the house when I wasn't feeling the best."
For women battling cancer, a disease that takes over their lives, a wig can help them take a little back.
"I had two really good friends of mine that were going through breast cancer at the same time," Tikalsky said. "They brought me their wigs and asked me if I could do something with them. I thought, 'Oh my gosh, guys, I haven't cut a wig since beauty school, but you're my friends, let's do it together.'"
Now, she matches wigs for cancer patients all over the state.
"When I shave their heads, that's when it becomes so visual," she said. "It's so nice for them to pop right into that wig where it looks just like their hair."
With a wig, her hair is one less thing she has to have on her mind.
"A little tweak here, a little tweak there," Tikalsky said. "It's amazing what you can do with them."
And it's amazing what Tikalsky does for her newfound friends.
"I have some pretty incredible women that I've met from over the years," said Tikalsky.
Because she says in her life: "Cancer people come first."
Tikalsky's salon is called JT Techniques.
She also sells turbans, scarves and hats.
One of the best parts of the experience for cancer patients is choosing and fitting a wig in the privacy of Tikalsky's home.