Bald, Brave & Beautiful

Kindergarten teacher Shannon Jones, 28, discovered she had Hodgkin’s lymphoma four months before getting married. She and her husband had been planning their marriage ceremony for nine months when she got her devastating diagnosis. Although doctors wanted her to put things on hold, she wanted to keep the date the same and wore a head wrap fashioned from her mother's vintage bridal veil instead of a wig.

Shannon knew chemotherapy treatment would cause her hair to fall out and take its toll on her energy levels. ‘I heard you will lose your hair in the next two weeks. You don’t envision getting married without any hair. I had envisioned my wedding since I was two,’ Jones said. However, instead of letting her illness take over, she decided to go ahead with her wedding. ‘I needed to have something amazing to look forward to,’ she said. She worked with her doctors to schedule her chemotherapy sessions so that wedding would fall in a week when she wasn’t receiving her treatment and she would be feeling healthier. The planning worked well. She was very happy on her wedding day. ‘In the middle of the reception, being surrounded by family and friends, I decided to take off my lace cap and just be a beautiful bald bride and celebrate with everyone,’ she told. ‘I didn’t feel any different; in fact, I felt just as beautiful, possibly even more!’

Almost one year later, she is now in remission. Doctors gave her the all-clear last fall. She and her husband are now planning their honeymoon – one thing that they decided to put on hold. Looking at the positive, Shannon said her illness made her stop worrying about small details and focus on the things that matter in life. ‘I know what’s important now and what’s something that doesn’t mean that much.’ She also praised her husband for helping keep her spirits high: ‘He is an amazing husband. He has been by my side supporting me through this battle in beating cancer. When we said our vows in sickness and health, it meant a lot.’ This beautiful bride didn’t let anything stand in the way of her wedding – not even cancer!