Cancer is awful. There's no better way of saying it, no platitude that can ease the mind of those facing a battle for their life. These days, cancer is not necessarily a death sentence, but it is the fight of a lifetime. Dana McSwain is fighting her hardest.
The 36-year-old mom from Charlotte, North Carolina, was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer earlier this year. It came while Dana was working full-time and taking care of her two young daughters and teenage stepson. Dana learned that the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. She also learned that she had the BRCA2 gene mutation.
Dana, ever the optimist and fighter, was committed to handling this the best way she could. She journaled. She leaned on those around her. When she decided to vent to a Facebook mom group about the difficulty she had finding a good wig, her tribe was listening.
Carol Daley Cook is a registered nurse. Her daughter goes to school with one of Dana's children. Seeing Dana's post compelled her, a woman with very long hair, to help. Together with several other women, they donated their hair to make Dana a one-of-a-kind wig. Now they're both sharing the story with Good Morning America.
Life was hectic enough earlier this year for Dana McSwain. The 36-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina, mom was taking care of her two young daughters and working full-time during stay-at-home orders. Dana was stopped in her tracks by a cancer diagnosis.
Dana learned that she had stage 2 breast cancer. The cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. It caught Dana, who had no family history of cancer, off guard. She also learned that she carries the BRCA2 gene mutation.
"It was a complete shock," Dana told Good Morning America.
"It's not just you have stage 2 cancer, it's you have stage 2 cancer with this genetic mutation that makes you susceptible to even more cancers. It's a battle for the rest of my life."
Two weeks after being diagnosed, Dana started chemotherapy with the support of her husband, her stepson, and her two daughters. It wasn't long before Dana reached a dreaded milestone. She began losing her hair.
"You kind of accept the cancer diagnosis and move on to the next step. So now I've accepted cancer and prepared myself to go through chemo, which means losing my hair," she said.
"As a woman, your hair may not define you but it sets you apart. I've always had long hair and I started to mourn that even before it was gone."
"I remember my second chemo was on a Thursday and that following Saturday morning I took a shower and washed my hair and it came out in handfuls," she said.
"I got out of the shower that day and looked in the mirror and texted my whole family and said, 'It's time to shave my head.'"
Dana shaved her head and began the hunt for a wig that would make her feel like herself. She was frustrated at how difficult it was to find one that wouldn't be extremely pricey.
"Finding a wig is an extremely hard process, especially not knowing where to begin because this has not been anything that I ever thought that I'd go through," Dana explained.
"Every wig I put on I couldn't get it off fast enough. I thought, 'This is not me. This doesn't work.'"
Dana was spending her evenings journaling to work through the many emotions and thoughts she was having. One night, she decided to vent to a moms' Facebook group.
"I went online one day and told them what I was going through and included a picture of myself. I just needed some support," she explained.
"I wrote out about wanting to get outside, mourning my hair loss, and just asking for advice and tips."
Carol Daley Cook was one of the women who saw Dana's post. Carol is a registered nurse. Her daughter goes to school with Dana's kids.
"I got to thinking, 'I have this really long hair, like down to my waist, and my poor friend is losing her hair to cancer,'" Carol said.
She decided then and there that she wanted to make a wig for Dana, but she had no idea where to start.
"I put a note out just asking if there was interest in getting this [wig] made for her," Carol explained.
"I had no idea how and then I found a place online, a woman in Tampa [Florida] who custom makes halo wigs."
Hours after posting about her idea, Carol had enough donations to pay for the wig. She also had offers from women to contribute to the wig with their own hair.
"Five women and one 7-year-old girl donated their hair," Carol said. The 7-year-old included an adorable note with her donation.
"Dear Mrs. Dana, Fight like a girl!!! Because girls rule! Praying for you," she wrote.
A week after first coming up with the idea, Carol was able to deliver the wig to Dana. "When I opened it, I knew immediately what it was," Dana said.
"The feeling of it had a different feeling than synthetic hair and I knew it was real hair and I knew Carol [Daley Cook] had cut her hair so I knew that's what it was."
Dana was overwhelmed by the incredibly generous gesture. "Looking at that wig and seeing the different colors and how it came together and knowing that every strand is something special and from someone special in my life, it was truly amazing," she said.
"It was such an indescribable feeling."
Dana kept the wig on all night. She enjoyed brushing her hair and taking selfies with her new look. It finally made her feel at home in her own body again.
"I would not take it off," she said. "It just looked like me again and I recognized myself."
Carol admitted to crying when she saw how elated Dana was with the wig. "I'm blessed that we could help her and do something to uplift her during this tough time," she said.
"We can't get together. We can't go have drinks, but we can still rally around each other. The power of women banding together, you can't underestimate it."
Dana has a long road ahead still. After finishing chemotherapy, Dana will undergo a double mastectomy and radiation treatment. She feels she is "living proof" that there are people who "want to do good, even during a time that's so scary."
"Cancer is a club that nobody wants to be in but when you walk through it and realize not only are you not alone spiritually but you have a community surrounding you, it's an overwhelming sense of strength."
