CANCER PATIENTS GET HENNA IN PLACE OF HAIR
Artists apply designs on chemotherapy patients.
COLUMBUS — As the dark henna paste dried on her head and neck, Rhonda Bartoe swished her arms in the air as though she wielded a mighty sword.
“It looks awesome,” her 12-yearold grandson said, looking at the design that resembled a feminine version of the chain mail worn by medieval knights.
“It looks like a warrior princess,” Bartoe responded. “I’m ready to go to battle — fighting cancer with my helmet on.”
The 57-year-old had just sat for more than three hours as Lynn Hetherington Becker applied the intricate henna designs. The Dublin, Ohio, artist applies the designs for free for people who have lost their hair because of chemotherapy treatments for cancer.
Bartoe found out about the service on Facebook.
“I was over the moon when I saw it,” said the Weinland Park resident, who also is an artist.
“You know when you know something is going to happen and it can be awful? If you find something that can make it a little more delightful you look forward to it, it’s worth it,” Bartoe said. “So as far as I was concerned, I was just gonna have another canvas for her to play with.”
Bartoe has breast cancer and started chemotherapy in December. She shaved her head when she began to lose her hair. She wears hats, scarves, a wig and, now, henna.
She’s one of several women on whom Becker has created henna crowns. The first woman she painted was pregnant and also had henna applied to her belly.
“She was such an amazing person with such an uplifted spirit,” Becker said. “I just thought, ‘She’s in such an amazing frame of mind for someone going through something so incredibly traumatic.’ And it was just very life-changing for me.”
So far, all of the patients Becker has worked on have been women, and each has had breast cancer. Some have asked for henna on their heads as well as other body parts, such as their backs.
They’ve come from all walks of life but have one thing in common.
“They’re all really incredibly strong, amazing women,” said Becker, 39, who started performing the service after a friend gave her an article about others doing similar work.
“It just makes me feel like somehow I got to be a part of that intimate experience with them even if it was just for a minute.”
One woman asked for a seahorse on her back. Another woman asked Becker to incorporate a hummingbird. Most ask for traditional designs that resemble mandalas or lace.
Becker, who runs a home day care, has been painting for as long as she can remember; she more recently moved into face and body painting. Henna was a natural next step, but until she decided to offer free stains to cancer patients, she had never applied it to a head.
For Bartoe, Becker used several tubes to create the helmetlike design. The rust-color stain lasts one to three weeks.
Bartoe, a flight attendant, has been through several rounds of weekly chemotherapy and has several more to go before starting daily radiation treatments that will last seven weeks.
“What makes you want to do this for us?” she asked Becker as she worked on her design.
“It’s nice to know that somehow I touched somebody’s life in a way that they’re always gonna remember,” Becker said.
As Becker grabbed two mirrors to unveil the design, Bartoe rubbed her hands together in excitement. Her first glimpse brought a gasp. “Oh my God, it’s fantastic,” she said. “That’s beautiful.”
Bartoe was tired but had powered through to have the design finished.
Some clients, Becker said, might need to take breaks. But whatever state they’re in, she said, she’s willing to help.
“If they’re not feeling well, it’s OK,” she said. “They’re absolutely welcome to come regardless of their condition. If they think this is something that would brighten their day, make their experience better, then I would love to have them.”