HAY RIVER - Two Hay River women experienced a range of emotions while recently having their hair cut to make a wig for cancer patients.

Cindy Haley has one ponytail cut by her daughter Nikki Ashton on Aug. 1. The hair will help make a wig for cancer patients. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Cindy Haley and Stacey Barnes appeared on the verge of tears one minute and smiled the next.

For Barnes, it was a moving experience because she lost her father, Gord Bolt, to cancer in May.

"I thought of my dad," she said. "It was not the hair at all. Hair will grow back."

Haley said that, while she was having her hair cut, she was envisioning some of the people she knows who have cancer.

"It's amazing what you think of in a couple of minutes," she said.

She noted cancer has affected many people and their families in Hay River.

"It's actually quite sad," she said.

Haley and Barnes had their hair cut in a fundraising event called Cutting the Curlz in front of the Hay River Community Hall on Aug. 1.

Three other women in Hay River had their hair cut earlier and donated it to make a wig for cancer patients, who temporarily lose their own hair while undergoing chemotherapy treatment.

Haley and Barnes each donated two ponytails – measuring about 14 inches in length – which will be sent to a company in Alberta to make a wig.

"I've wanted to do this for quite a long time," Haley said, noting she recently turned 50. "I just decided it was a good time to give back."

Haley had initially intended to have her hair cut alone, but the other women joined the cause.

In fact, Barnes, 28, decided to get involved just a few days before and raised $2,600 in donations in that short period of time.

She said she figured it was a good cause

In all, Haley estimated about $5,000 in donations will be going to the Canadian Cancer Society in Yellowknife.

She expressed thanks to the people and businesses of Hay River for their support.

Haley has not had short hair since she was about eight years old.

She said is adjusting to not having long hair, noting, "I keep trying to move it out of the way and it's not there."