A Touch of Glamour

Cancer patient Margarita Lopez, left, shares a laugh with Soroptimist Stephanie Beardsley, in the new Glamour Room at NorthBay.

Women with cancer no longer have to travel outside Solano County to receive a free hat, scarf or wig. Thanks to a partnership between NorthBay Healthcare and the American Cancer Society, they can visit the “Glamour Room” at the Gateway Medical Building in Fairfield.

The idea developed after a fire in January 2012 destroyed the wig room and office building of the Fairfield American Cancer Society. The NorthBay Cancer Center team of Magi Philpot, licensed clinical social worker, and Bea Castro, oncology administrative supervisor, worked with NorthBay’s Property Manager Kay Draisin and Facilities Planning Manager Carmen Perry, and local designer Donna Lucchio of AIM Consulting to create the room.

“It had to be purple,” explains Philpot, “because purple is the color for cancer survivors. It’s also gorgeous and dignified.” And so, the room is two-tone, painted with an eggshell white and purple, and is adorned with a purple settee and ribbon. A salon chair and station, and a salon store drawer round out the former office. A portrait of Marilyn Monroe on the wall was one of the finishing touches, says Philpot.

Funds raised by a “Virtual Tea” hosted by the Soroptimist International of Central Solano last April were used to purchase the settee, the salon equipment, as well as new scarves, hats and wigs. Items collected during a fund-raiser last summer with local fire departments, headed by Lynne DiModica of the Center for Women’s Health, a NorthBay affiliate, will also be made available at the room.

Cash donations to help with the room are always welcome. Checks should be made out to NorthBay Healthcare Foundation, with Cancer Center Glamour Room in the memo field and sent to NorthBay Healthcare Foundation, 4500 Business Center Drive, Fairfield, CA 94534.

For now, the room will be open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, by appointment, for any cancer patient in the community and will be staffed by the American Cancer Society. For more information or to set up an appointment, call (415) 454-8464 or (800) 227-2345.

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