Bald Barbie Can Help with Young Cancer Patients

Hair loss is among the effects of treatments that young cancer patients face. So a group of Facebook users is promoting a novel response to this problem: the production of a bald Barbie doll. The idea is that interacting with a childhood glamour icon experiencing cancer will help the children cope more effectively:

Jane Bingham, Sypin’s friend and co-founder of the Facebook page, lost her hair while undergoing treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

“My daughter had some difficulty accepting me going from a long-haired blonde to a bald woman,” she wrote in a blog. A bald Barbie, she added, could be a great way for young girls to cope with hair loss that happens to them or to a loved one.

Nearly 60,000 people are fans of the page, created just three weeks ago, and that number is still climbing. Many commenters shared their support for the bald Barbie.

“I can only imagine what young children feel when they lose their hair,” wrote a cancer patient. “Let’s make this happen and teach them young that hair doesn’t make someone beautiful, it’s whats inside that truly matters!”

Mattel has yet to respond beyond a form letter. But the group has vowed to get the company's attention and persuade it to produce this Barbie doll.

News Story and Facebook Group -- Thanks, Lynn! | Image: Bald and Beautiful Barbie