Two weeks after my first chemo treatment, my hair was coming out in clumps so I decided to have a hair shaving party. I was going to lose it on my terms and invited my good friends and family over. I came up with the idea to give away memory locks so we put little braids and pink ribbons in my hair, and when we shaved it off, everyone there got one. We had to make it a fun and positive experience because I knew if I was traumatized, then my daughter would be, too. Afterwards she asked, “Can we do it again tomorrow Mommy?”
I was really afraid of having people find out that I had cancer, because I thought it would paint me as fallible and weak. I felt it would ruin my career and I would no longer have a position in the industry. God truly spoke to my heart and gave me the courage to talk about it publicly. At that point, I felt I was in a position to help young women.
It was really hard for me to picture anchoring the news with a wig on, knowing that I would look sick and viewers would see it, too. I decided the best way to stand up for women and show that bald was beautiful was to anchor an entire newscast without my wig. I was apprehensive about what the viewer reaction might be, but I knew it was a statement I wanted to make. The response was overwhelmingly positive.
I never wore my wig except on the air. I walked around the city bald and never covered my head up. I have met some women who could not even take off their wigs in their own houses, which was sad. Tony, my husband of twelve years, shaved his head too and kept it that way every day until my chemo was over. We got a lot of funny looks when we went out with our daughter.
Leslie Mouton is an anchorwoman for KSAT-TV news, the ABC affiliate in San Antonio, Texas
