On The Mane

The Jewish General Hospital’s Hope and Cope Cancer Support Center

Through his personal determination and passion to find a “cure” tor hair loss, Cam Toutounghi founded The Hair Clinic, an invaluable wig centre in Montreal that offers specialized solutions for those dealing with hair loss due to chemotherapy.

With over I500 “wigs & hairpieces“ available tor both men and women, The Hair Clinic is a Montreal gem that not only provides personalized service, complete follow-up sessions with every wig or hairpiece purchased but most importantly extends a compassionate arm to everyone that steps through their doors.

How and why did you go into this profession?

It all began when I lost my hair at the age at l6. I was determined to get into med school to find a “cure” for hair loss, I was admitted to McGill’s Faculty of Medicine from 1976 – 1980. In 1980 I joined The Upjohn Company & was involved in the development & marketing of Rogaine, a Hair Growth Stimulant. Disillusioned with Rogaine, I decided to work on Funding research projects in Oncology at Upjohn.

While working with chemotherapeutic drugs, I had the opportunity to support events on the psycho-social aspects of oncology, and the privilege of collaborating with Dr. Abe Fuchs at the McGill Cancer Center, as well as Dr. Bal Mount at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

I subsequently attempted to focus my energies towards the use of “non-oncogenic growth factors” tor the stimulation at hair regrowth, but met with a lot of resistance from the medical & pharmaceutical fields.

That’s when I decided it was time for a major change. In I994, I dropped everything, took one year sabbatical & learned a completely new trade, that of Master Wigmaker & Hairdressing. Combining my personal experience with hair loss, my experience as a medical student, my involvement in Oncology, and my training as a hair replacement specialist, I channelled all my energies on helping people cope with hair loss due to chemotherapy and offering “Hair Alternatives” such as wigs & hairpieces at The Hair Clinic in Montreal.

What type of services do you offer?

The Hair Clinic offers the widest selection of quality hairpieces for both men & women. The Hair Clinic has over 1500 “wigs & hairpieces” in stock. The Hair Clinic offers a complete service with every wig purchased including free haircuts, follow-up visits, turban, wig head, shampoo, conditioner, a specialized wig hair brush & adhesives. All are included free of charge along with every wig or hairpiece purchased.

Every patient receives three personalized services with every wig. The initial service involves cutting & styling, fitting & customizing the wig before any major hair loss occurs. The second visit is usually scheduled 2 weeks after the first chemotherapy session. This is the time when most people begin losing their hair. The hair that’s left is then trimmed as per individual taste & the wig is then resized & re-cut & styled to accommodate for the absence of hair underneath.

After living with his or her “new hair” for a few days, we usually schedule a third free appointment to add final touches to further personalize the hairstyle.

What makes your business different from your competitors?

We care, and we care, and we care!…We fully recognize that a diagnosis of Cancer can be a psychologically devastating event, and understand that often the most difficult issue to address is the fear of Chemotherapy-induced hair loss. This hair loss can be an unrelenting daily reminder of the battle with cancer. We view the role of hair replacement as taking a critical importance in helping to ease the fear of hair loss.

Each of our caring “Oncology Associates” at The Hair Clinic fully understands the importance of hair and maintaining one’s personal appearance. A high-quality hairpiece, can in a small way, help make the burden of a diagnosis of cancer just a little easier to bear. “Giving cancer patients their hair back” so to speak, with the help of a very natural hair replacement will give the cancer patients the luxury at forgetting about cancer, at least for a little while.

Our prime objective is to help both women & men with cancer, look great so they can feel great about themselves & let the chemotherapy help their bodies heal & win the battle against Cancer.

How did you first become involved with Hope & Cope?

Taking into consideration my medical / oncology background & my personal experiences with hair loss, the obvious channel for helping people with hair loss due to chemotherapy was by getting involved with Hope & Cope…my way of making a very small contribution to help cancer patients keep hoping while coping with cancer.

What is your most rewarding moment working with Hope & Cope?

Just about every moment has its rewards, as it is accompanied by a sense of inner peace & of doing the right thing…it’s almost a selfish act! By helping others, I feel better about myself. One particular situation comes to mind when a cancer patient at Hope & Cope had said to me “but what do you know about what we have to go through?” I responded by saying, that I can never hope to know or fully understand what you are personally going through, but I can begin to understand what it’s like to lose your hair as I myself have lost my hair, exposing my hairpiece to the audience…She got up from her seat in tears & hugged me!

The Hair Clinic – La Clinique Capillaire is located at 2070 Crescent St., just below Sherbrooke. The Hair Clinic has a surface area of 2500 square feet, and offers a selection of over 1200 wigs in stock.

Cam Toutounghi from The Hair Clinic Montreal shown in the picture above has participated actively with the Look Good Feel Better program at both the Cedars CanSupport Center of The Royal Victoria Hospital, as well as the Hope and Cope center at The Jewish General Hospital in Montreal, for seven years.

CanSupport, The Cedars Cancer Institute, is a hospital-based charity which provides support to patients and healthcare professionals at the McGill University Cancer Center, “helping cancer patients and their families… one person at a time”. Look Good Feel Better is hosted by CanSupport at The RVH

Hope & Cope is recognized as an important adjunct to the JGH Oncology Department, which is renowned for excellence in patient care, teaching and research.  Look Good Feel Better is hosted by Hope and Cope at The JGH.

At The Hair Clinic Montreal, we’ll make you look good so you can feel better about yourself and let the chemotherapy help your body heal itself so you can WIN the battle against cancer!

Hot hair is so cool, but so’s a $50 Discount Coupon on hand made Cancer wigs at The Medical Wig Center of The Hair Clinic on Crescent Street.

Call 514.848.6185 for your free, absolutely no obligation, laid back hair consultation, & see for yourself what hair perfection looks like!