JANESVILLE, Wis. — There’s a new place in Janesville for anyone going through cancer treatments to get support and resources.
It’s called “Hope Blooms.” Mary Arndt is one of the people who helped created the space. It includes an area to try on wigs and get one for free with the help of a stylist.
“The person could come in and have this space private,” Arndt said. “The hair stylist will help them work through it. They’ll shave their head if they need to, or cut their hair as short as they want, fit them for a wig, style the wig.”
Arndt said she knows how important that kind of help is. She was first diagnosed with cancer 20 years ago, and didn’t have a place like this when she lost her hair.
“I did try to get a wig, and I got one,” Arndt said. “But you had to pick it out of a magazine. It might work, or it might not work. Well, it didn’t work, it was not good.”
Arndt is now fighting cancer again after it came back for a third time. She said building this community resource is helping her get through it.
“The support that you can get from others, it’s just so meaningful,” Arndt said. “Whether it’s good friends or strangers.”
Hope Blooms provides free essentials for cancer treatment like lotions, lip balms, warm socks, books, coloring pads and games. There are even quilts donated by a community member.
It’s located at SSM Health’s St. Mary’s Hospital, but you don’t have to be a patient there to use it.
Dona Hohensee is the director of the SSM Health Foundation. Her work with Arndt started years ago when they began putting together cancer care bags for patients.
“When you’re going through treatment, it’s just a very costly illness,” Hohensee said. “We all wanted to make sure that we were helping where we could to relieve some of that stress.”
Hohensee said she’s touched by how many Rock County businesses, families and residents contributed to help make this space a reality.
“The generosity in this community was overwhelming, from near and far,” Hohensee said. “UW gave us all the wigs to start. We fundraised for all the other things, and the community donated things.”
Arndt and her husband started an endowment that will help fund Hope Blooms for years to come, and she looks forward to helping it grow.
“If we can provide that comfort, it’s a good feeling for us, of course, but it’s because of how we’re helping cancer patients,” she said.
SSM Health is looking for volunteers to help keep Hope Blooms up and running. If you’d like to get involved, you can call Dona Hohensee at (608) 373-8015 or click here.