Two cancer survivors have been hailed as ‘Haringey Health Heroes’ after they raised enough money to fund two new scalp cooling machines for patients undergoing chemotherapy at North Mid.

Kaz Foncette, who underwent chemotherapy at the Edmonton hospital five years ago, was the first patient to benefit from the hospital’s first scalp cooling machine donated in 2019, to help manage the side effects of hair loss.

The treatment had such a positive impact she was fuelled to raise funds to purchase a second machine to help more patients.

Through Wigs for Heroes, the Tottenham-based charity Kaz founded to support people going through cancer treatment, she raised enough money to purchase a second Paxman Scalp Cooling machine, and was delighted when a second cancer survivor and her family came on board with the fundraising campaign.

Nilima Shah, who underwent cancer treatment and benefitted from scalp-cooling therapy during the pandemic, drew on her first-hand experience of how Paxman scalp-cooling can help patients maintain some control over a side effect of their cancer treatment, to drive forward fundraising with friends and family.

Nilima’s contribution was so successful that the shared fundraising efforts generated enough money to purchase a further Paxman scalp cooler – so North Mid patients now benefit from three top-of-the-range machines!

Staff at the event

North Mid’s Chief Executive Dr Nnenna Osuji said: “We are truly grateful to Kaz, Nilima, their families and supporters, who made this happen. This is a sign of the strength and kindness of our wonderful community.

"It is gratifying to know that this generous donation has been sparked from the positive personal experiences of two patients

“We are honoured to be able to care for our patients at some of the most vulnerable times of their lives. Our doctors, nurses, therapists and support staff in the cancer team at North Mid are dedicated to providing the very best treatment and care for our patients, and this equipment will help them have an even more positive impact on our patients’ experience.”

Blessing Kamudyariwa, lead nurse for chemotherapy at North Mid, said:  “Our patients tell us that one of the most devastating side effects of chemotherapy can be hair loss, and this hugely generous donation will help give them the option to try to preserve their hair during treatment. Kaz and the Wigs for Heroes team are hugely supportive of the oncology service at North Mid, and have long supported our patients’ care by providing pampering items, as well as wigs or funding to buy these, and we are incredibly grateful for their ongoing support.”