Probably a clear sign that I am going to hell when the first thing I did was laugh at the author's name.

Chemo is hard

Apparent, chemo makes your genitals heal over.

/the horror, the horror

That has got to be one of the dumbest acronyms i've ever seen.

Bald And Really Beautiful Is Extraordinary

Spatula Porn: Probably a clear sign that I am going to hell when the first thing I did was laugh at the author's name.

He's way cooler than that prude Mark Spitz.

"Campaign push for Beautiful and Bald Barbie "

Barbie's already bald.

Spatula Porn: Probably a clear sign that I am going to hell when the first thing I did was laugh at the author's name.

He's clearly laden with that name

If I turn the knob in the back, does the hair fall out?

I'm waiting for progeria Skipper.

Barbie NEVER swallows and the titties will melt.

/Ken still gay?

Did somebody say 'cancer'?

Only a FEW women can actually still look beautiful while bald. When I see bald kids, I think of the holocaust from that movie I saw years ago.

Spatula Porn: Probably a clear sign that I am going to hell when the first thing I did was laugh at the author's name.

No, just a sign that you're a child.

/I laughed too.
//Michael Swallow, heh

Because if there's one way to reassure young girls that they're fine and normal the way they are, it's with Barbie dolls.

"7 yr old girl has cancer for SECOND time" -> cancer barbie

this may be the weirdest fark thread ever

Where is cleft lip Barbie?

Is it made in Japan?

*pull* "Goodness gracious, I just don't have any energy!"

_{\\I'm so so sorry}

Would the doll have 1 boob?

My wife was diagnosed with Acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Aug of 2010. After multiple chemo and radiation treatments, she is in remission, and only another 8 months of "lighter" maintenance chemo to go for a complete cure (yes, there IS a cure for this cancer). She has lost her hair 3 times, and after the first, kept it shaved short as it came and went. She never complained or felt sorry for herself. Yes, bald is beautiful, and I never hesitated to tell her.

Having cancer as an older adult is one thing, have had a good run at life, but spending time in the cancer clinic and ward and seeing little kids with it rips your heart out.

Anything that can be done to ease their physical and mental pain and make them feel more normal, even for a second, has my vote.

To all of those making smart ass remarks to this thread, I hope no one in your family ever has to go through it. But right now the odds are 1 in 2 for men, and 1 in 3 for women that someone you know will. Kind of sobering numbers.

And oh, stay off my lawn :-)

I'm not fat, it's the steroids from my treatment.

The chemo is making me sick.

Kaylee Rider, a 7-year-old, wears a scarf on her head because she is bald from battling cancer, for the second time. She also lost her hair from her first battle with cancer.

I hope she gets better.

When she does, though, I hope they don't give her back her hair. She's already lost it twice, for God's sakes. If she can't remember where she leaves her stuff, she doesn't deserve to have it.

Kids shouldn't get cancer. It's farked up that they do.

/Good luck to the kid.

Seeing sick kids really bums me out.

They should put them all in jail so I don't have to look at them.

Cindy Sherman's Barbie.

I can't help but notice that the hypothetical Chemo Barbie still has eyebrows and eyelashes. I suppose it could be that they're supposed to be "painted on," but since they are painted on that flirts with the fourth wall in a disorienting way.

I've more empathy for Bipolar Barbie.

I don't see a problem with this idea. I played avidly with Barbies when I was a kid so I can pretty much already imagine what this could look like; have a bald Barbie that comes with a removable wig and a removable scarf or hat, and she can come wearing a dress but also have a hospital gown.

Someone mentioned eyebrows and eyelashes and I can think of a way around that; I used to have My Little Ponies and if you ever played with those you'll probably remember that each pony has a little picture on it's rump. There were some special edition ones where the picture was invisible until you made it appear with heat (press your finger on it and voila; a picture). I think there might also have been some that became visible when moistened? I dunno, it's been a long time. In a similar manner though, Chemo Barbie could come without her eyebrows and eyelashes and makeup, but she could come with a little makeup kit and the eyebrows and everything will appear when you warm her face up with your hands.

Slap a pink ribbon on the box and donate some proceeds to a children's cancer charity and you make everyone happy; Mattel who gets to rake it in with a niche market, the charities who get money, the sick children who have a toy that reflects their own situation, and the pink obsessed women who have to plaster a ribbon on everything they own.

If you get a lot of x-rays you might get cancer.

Seeing this story reminds me of this:

R2-KT (new window)

I prefer to think of her as Persis Hhambatta Barbie.

Dahnkster: [sparklysparkly.files.wordpress.com image 460x456]

Did somebody say 'cancer'?

Malkovich Malkovich?

Not a bad idea at all. Personally, I find the idea that a little girl fighting cancer has to be concerned with being beautiful to be horrifying, but hey. To each their own. If a bald Barbie would make her happy, or even make her mother feel better, so be it. If the doll came with props - hospital furniture, IV pole, etc - it might allow the kid to do what kids do, which is to use play to reenact things that are bothering them in order to process their feelings. I wouldn't mind seeing a GI Joe version, either. Somehow I'm imagining egg-bald GI Joe in a hospital gown fighting a monstrous blob of cells with a little gun with a radiation symbol on it. "TAKE THAT, CANCER! ARRGHHRR!!"

Chemo doesn't always make your eyelashes and eyebrows fall out. FYI the reason chemo makes your hair fall out is because the chemo drugs target rapidly dividing cells, which mean that rapidly dividing cells like the ones in your hair follicles get caught up in the crossfire.

I had cancer many years ago. Had chemo, went bald. Thankfully it was not a fad then for friends and family to shave their heads in sympathy. I know people do this to be supportive, and if it actually makes the cancer patient feel better then fine. But personally I hate it. Going bald from chemo is not the same as voluntarily shaving your head. I mean, for me it amounts to saying "Hey, this bad thing is happening to you, so we're all going to pretend it's happening to us." Like when people with jobs and houses camp out to support the homeless. Really, going bald is is one of the better parts of having cancer, and being surrounded by bald people would not make me feel any better. Knowing that they care about me, yes, that would make me feel better, but they can and should be able to show me they care without shaving their heads.

As for the Cancer Barbie... First, this girl should not need a bald doll to make her feel better about herself. Her family and friends should be doing that by treating her normally and by giving her support when she needs it. Give her some funky hats. Or cool wigs. Or scarfs, which is what she's wearing. Whatever she wants. And while I know kids can be pretty terrible to each other, I suspect that every kid in Kaylee's school knows she has cancer and is being supportive. I doubt if any of them are making fun of her baldness.

Also, unless this Barbie is marketed as Interchangeable-Wigs Barbie, it's not going to sell. Who's going to want a bald Barbie? Especially one that has cancer? Jesus. How about an Amputee Barbie or a Burn Victim Barbie?

As for kids making their own Cancer Barbie by shaving the head of a regular Barbie... No. I'd prefer a real Cancer Barbie marketed by Mattel to a shaved-head Barbie posing as a Cancer Barbie. There's nothing I hate more on television shows or in movies than a character with cancer who has an obvious shaved head. Shaved and bald are different. Cancer patients who lose their hair to chemo do not have stubble. I'm not saying actors should undergo chemo, but surely there's a way to hide the stubble. Bleaching their roots? A little pancake makeup on their dome? Something.

My wife is a cancer survivor. She thinks this is the dumbest idea ever. Kids that are going through chemo are not going to be comforted by having a doll that looks sick too.

Mom driving this is an attention whore of the highest degree

Super Chronic: Because if there's one way to reassure young girls that they're fine and normal the way they are, it's with Barbie dolls.

This
Instead to asking the whole world to lie to your daughter that bald is beautiful, each her that exterior beauty can fade. Inner beauty is what counts.

Andulamb: but surely there's a way to hide the stubble. Bleaching their roots? A little pancake makeup on their dome? Something.

A blade shave and a few layers of liquid latex ought to do it, or maybe just tattoo hiding foundation. It's a detail that the makeup artist probably isn't aware of.

When my friend's hair started coming out, I shaved her head. She doesn't mind just having a bald head, but I did get her a wig - a bright purple costume wig. She likes that, and she likes silly hats.I also draw cartoons on her feeding tube dressings and make the tube part into part of the cartoon - a tail on an elephant's butt, Sponge Bob's nose, whatever. I mean, hell, I have the marker in my hand anyway to write the date on there, so why not?

It seems to me that a kid also might enjoy goofy, fun head coverings. Having no hair shouldn't be a shame to be hidden. Then again, for some kids, they might really want to have real looking hair. Depends on the person, right?

marleymaniac: My wife is a cancer survivor. She thinks this is the dumbest idea ever. Kids that are going through chemo are not going to be comforted by having a doll that looks sick too.

Mom driving this is an attention whore of the highest degree

you'd think healthy kids would be upset if they gave Barbie cancer.

I think if they want to help children they should give Elmo cancer, they could make him hairless from the chemo. Cancer isn't the only sickness children get some children are paralyzed some have burns, after Elmo's hair falls out they should burn him then break his back. Then there is that baby we read about yesterday that was born inside out, they should do that to Elmo too.