– I just want to feel normal. I don’t want to stick out. At the age of seven, Linn Berg Bertheussen (39) from Harstad contracted the skin disease alopecia. Now she has to spend tens of thousands of kroner every year to have hair on her head. Linn Bertheussen has worked as a hairdresser at Øya Frisør at St. Olav’s hospital in Trondheim. Her own experiences with alopecia come in handy. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news If you are under 30, Nav provides support for six synthetic wigs or two real hair wigs a year. Nav normally covers up to NOK 25,000 per wig. For people over the age of 30, Nav provides an annual grant of NOK 5,885. – I almost think it’s a mockery that the support is so low. You get nothing for that sum, says Bertheussen. Alopecia Autoimmune disease: Alopecia is an autoimmune disease. That is that the body mistakenly starts producing antibodies that attack the body’s own healthy tissues and cells – again and again. There are approximately 80 autoimmune diseases. Hereditary: 20% will have a positive family history, there are some close relatives who have Alopecia Areata. Women or men: It is thought to be common among men and women. Symptoms: Itching, tingling in the affected areas, tenderness or pain. Number: It is believed that around 0.1-0.2% of the population is affected by Alopecia at any given time. Demanding similarity She works as a hairdresser at St. Olav’s hospital in Trondheim and is well aware of how much wigs cost. A synthetic wig, which cannot be dyed, curled or straightened, lasts for about half a year and costs from NOK 7,000 upwards. A real hair wig, which can be styled, lasts about a year and costs from about 20,000 upwards. Bertheussen’s wig cost NOK 29,000. – It can easily be seen as being vain, “do you care so much about your hair?”, but I need a wig that suits me to feel good. Many different people have sat in Linn Bertheussen’s hairdresser’s chair. Today, Susanne Berre, who has cancer, made the trip. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news She says that a wig that fits is not only important for mental health, but also that you are then able to be part of society, such as going to work. Now she demands change. – I think it should be the same as for those under 30. – The state pays its own share Oda Nybakken Molstad, head of the Alopecia Association, is also aware that the support scheme is far too small and poor. – We demand that the rates themselves be increased. It should not be the case that we have to pay the largest sums ourselves, and then the state only pays a small deductible. Leader of the Alopecia Association, Oda Nybakken Molstad, demands better wig support. Photo: Kristin Hefte In addition, Nybakken Molstad demands that the regulations for wig support be reviewed. – The way the regulations are, it works inappropriately for all parties. She says it would have been economically profitable to have a better support scheme. – We speak to many members who are unable to be at work and are on sick leave. We know that they could function almost normally in their everyday lives if they had received the support of a wig prosthesis. Trude Søreng gets her new wig stuck. She is aware that she needs a wig to function in everyday life. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news Have to use the holiday money In the hairdresser’s chair in Trondheim sits Trude Søreng. She has had alopecia since she was 19. – I don’t go out without hair. I don’t feel comfortable with that. Since I cannot wear synthetic wigs due to allergies, I have to buy real hair wigs. These are much more expensive, says Søreng. She receives extended wig support of just under NOK 15,000. Nevertheless, she has to save every month, and use the holiday money to afford a wig that fits. This year’s wig costs NOK 46,000. Wig on wig – Trude Søreng and Linn Bertheussen discuss different types of wigs. Søreng has just had his newest wig styled. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news She describes Nav’s wig support as a mockery, and points out that alopecia is not a fatal disease, but that it affects how you feel. – If I hadn’t been able to afford to buy a wig that is of such quality that makes me feel good, it would also have been difficult to function in society, says Søreng. Can remove worries Susanne Berre from Harstad has breast cancer. She got help from her parents to buy a wig for NOK 28,000. For Susanne, the wig has meant a lot. – I wouldn’t have come here today if it wasn’t for the wig. She tries on a short-haired synthetic wig for NOK 7,300. She quickly puts her old wig back on. Susanne Berre feels more like herself in the real hair wig with long hair than the short synthetic wig. Hanne Wilhelms/news – I feel like a completely different person now than when I was wearing this, she says and points to the gray short-haired wig. Berre believes that a good wig support can take away much of the worry about being sick with cancer, and she thinks it is silly that a wig is not included in the treatment. – How much does my cancer treatment cost, NOK 150,000-200,000? There are a few thousand Swedish kroner every Tuesday that we withdraw without a problem. But the fact that I should be fine from Wednesday to Monday, between that treatment, is obviously not that important. Hair loss most traumatic Svein Bergvik, psychologist and associate professor at UiT, Norway’s Arctic University, says that hair is very identity-creating and that losing hair can have a big impact on patients. – There are several studies that show that patients themselves rank hair loss as perhaps the most traumatic of a cancer diagnosis, says Bergvik. Psychologist Svein Bergvik says that hair loss is one of the most traumatic things about a cancer diagnosis. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news He says that patients who have received a serious diagnosis with hair loss as a side effect may experience insufficient support schemes that do not cover actual needs, as a sign that they are not taken seriously. – Patients often associate being taken seriously with very specific help measures. Meeting understanding From 2022 to 2023, the wig subsidy increased from NOK 5,725 to NOK 5,885, a total of NOK 160. Since 2000, the support has increased by NOK 1,635. Tomas Norvoll (Ap), state secretary in the Ministry of Labor and Inclusion, understands well that wig wearers are frustrated by the current wig support. – What we have done in the budget for this year is that we have adjusted the price of the wig subsidy, so that it is the same real amount as it was last year. But unfortunately, this support has been fixed or regulated less than the price increase for quite a few years. Tomas Norvoll, state secretary in the Ministry of Labor and Inclusion, says they have received many comments that the wig subsidy is not good enough. Photo: Adam Enochsson / news He describes the lack of development of the support as an original sin, and says it is too late to change this year’s support. – What we managed in the state budget for 2023 is to ensure that you at least do not continue along the path where you do not adjust prices, he says. Norvoll says that in the state budget for 2024 one must look at whether this is one of the issues that can be done about. – But unfortunately I can’t say anything concrete about that today. Linn Bertheussen likes to share tips and tricks with others. Now Trude Søreng will also try out temporary eyebrows. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news
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Have to spend tens of thousands of kroner on hair a year – thinks the support is a mockery – news Troms and Finnmark
