Collegiate Times

Image: 2011-04-21 23:04:22

The first time she went to class baring her bald head, rather than a wig, Iona Parks was afraid.

“It was hard. Everyone was staring at me. I looked like I was trying to be Natalie Portman — but I know I can’t pull that off,” Parks said, laughing.

Unlike Portman, Parks’ hair choice wasn’t a statement of style but a result of four rounds of chemotherapy. 

Parks, a sophomore communication major, was a freshman when a 10-pound tumor attached to her ovary was removed. Six months later she would buy her first wig.

Parks began to feel stomach pains after returning to school from winter break her freshman year. Prescribed painkillers failed to help — the pain sharply increased. One afternoon it became too much, and Parks’ sister rushed her to the ER. Doctors quickly noticed a tumor on her right ovary and immediately took her to surgery.

“I was just happy it wasn’t the freshman 15,” Park said, joking.

Her humor seems to be an integral part of her strength. 

After surgery, the recovery was slow and painful, scattered with routine checkups. However, one checkup wasn’t so routine. By June another mass appeared, this time the size of her fist. 

“Basically, I just thought I’d walk in and the doctor would be like, ‘Oh yeah, you’re fine,’” Parks said, tearing up. “But they didn’t take me to my normal office. They took me to a small room that was basically a table, a chair and a box of tissues.” 

This time the growth was cancerous. Considering how quick and large it grew, the doctors recommended immediate chemotherapy. 

“I was completely shocked. I never thought I would have to go through anything like that,” she said. “The first thing I thought about was my hair — it sounds superficial.”

The doctors said she would begin to lose her hair about two weeks after her chemotherapy start date in July — the exact day Parks was scheduled to move into her apartment.

“I decided to stay in school and try to do something. I just didn’t want to be wasting away,” Parks said, “I wanted to still try to be part of everything.”

Enrolling in two online and one in-class courses, Parks was able to spend two weeks at a time in Blacksburg, returning home to D.C. every third week for a round of chemotherapy.

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A version of this article appeared in the Apr 22 issue of the Collegiate Times.