Teen Cancer Survivor Cuts Hair for Kids Fighting Cancer

Emily FaRannte knows exactly what it feels like to lose your hair during cancer treatment, so now she's helping make sure other kids get theirs back.

The 15-year-old cancer survivor from Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley recently styled hair donations for two generous donors, turning their locks into ponytails destined for Wigs for Kids. The organization creates wigs for children battling cancer, and Emily has made it her mission to help however she can.

Robert Hockenbury walked into his appointment ready for a dramatic change. After growing his hair for a year and a half, the biomedical equipment technician at Lehigh Valley Health Network was eager to donate in honor of his parents, who both died of cancer in 2016 and 2017.

"It didn't seem to be growing fast enough for me," Hockenbury said before Emily got to work. He also lost a close friend and father figure to cancer in 2018, making this donation his third journey to help kids fighting the disease.

Emily also cut 14 inches from Kristina Bubrow's hair, a patient care coordinator at the same health network. Both donors trusted Emily completely, and Hockenbury even got to hold something special during his cut: Rosie, Emily's beloved plush Squishmallow who helped her through her own cancer treatments.

"It's just something in my heart was telling me, Rosie needs to sit with them," Emily explained. The stuffed animal became her comfort during the hardest days, and now she shares that comfort with others.

Sunny's Take

What makes Emily's story so powerful isn't just that she survived cancer at such a young age. It's that she took her pain and transformed it into purpose. While most 15-year-olds are figuring out their place in the world, Emily already knows hers: helping kids who are walking the same scary path she once walked.

Every snip of her scissors carries understanding that only someone who's been there can offer. She knows what those wigs will mean to the children who receive them, because she lived it herself.

"When I'm able to help give back to the people who helped me, I love doing it," Emily said. For Hockenbury, who walked out "almost bald" after his cut, the fresh start marks the beginning of another year and a half of growing his hair for his fourth donation.

Some people talk about making a difference someday, but Emily is already changing lives one haircut at a time.