Cancer conference exceeds expectations

The conference, “100 Years of Chadron State College, 100 Inches of Hair – Cancer Knowledge, Resources and Empowerment,” kept the Student Center busy Wednesday afternoon as a steady flow of people showed up to get information and haircuts. The event was organized by the five students of a CSC social work course.

Bruce Hoem, the CSC professor who teaches the upper level “communities and organizations” course, said about 100 sandwich and freezer style bags of hair, each containing eight to 10 inches.

"I was amazed at how many people said that they really liked their hair, but that giving it for making wigs for cancer patients made it really OK to part with it," Hoem said. "Chadron State students really contributed a lot of hair for this project."

Six licensed hair professionals from Chadron, Hemingford and Hot Springs set up to collect hair in the Student Center. About $300 of donations were collected throughout the afternoon.

The afternoon featured speakers about a variety of cancer topics. Two breast cancer survivors, KOTA news director Helene Duhamel and CSC psychology professor Dr. Laura Gaudet, told about their experiences. Duhamel showed an in-depth documentary that details her account.

Other speakers included Trinity Fuss, a physician’s assistant for The Women’s Center of Western Nebraska who graduated from CSC in 1997, and Carol Diffendaffer of Regional West’s Cancer Treatment Center. The event also featured a panel discussion of a variety of health care representatives.

About 15 booths in the Student Center ballroom contained information from a wide variety of cancer related health care representatives.

Hoem said the students did an outstanding job organizing and presenting the conference, and expressed appreciation for the college’s support.

The students are Tara Adamson, Alliance; Katie Anderson, Rapid City, S.D.; Josh Harris, Julesburg, Colo.; Deb Rosentrater, Hemingford; and Amanda Watts, Hot Springs, S.D.