Jackson Free Press

Just a little ways from the entrance to the Cancer Center at Merit Health Central in Jackson is the Magnolia Garden, a boutique that gives cancer patients a chance to find peace and feel better about themselves.

Danielle Boone, a radiation therapist in the Cancer Center, says that the director of radiation therapy, Tara Howington had wanted to start a boutique.

"We had wigs and hats, but we had them in a cabinet, and we didn't have a formal setting to let the patients come in and sit," Boone says in an interview.

The boutique is spread across two rooms. In one room, knitted hats of all different colors sit on small pink stands decorated with pearls, light pink flowers and knitted maroon embellishments. Some are on display on a light brown shelving unit, some are on a display table, and some hang on a hat rack with colorful knitted scarves. On the opposite walls, mannequin heads with decoupaged paper lace—added to them look friendlier—that are covered with wigs of all different hair colors, from sandy blonde to black to brown sit on top of weathered, ornate shelves. The other room houses the clothing closet, a large light brown armoire. The room also has knitted hats, and a metallic-colored chair sits in the corner of the room. Both areas are accented with gentle colors such dusty and pastel pinks, gold and pastel brown, and have artwork that feature scriptures from the Bible.

"We all wanted a cozy, peaceful atmosphere where patients could come and try on wigs and hats if they were in need," she says, "to make them feel special."

But it's more than just hats, wigs and clothes.

"A lot of times, the patients, they come and see us for, like six to eight weeks, so we get to know them really well," Boone says. "They become like part of our family, and you know when they're having a bad day, or when they're depressed. These rooms are more than just, 'Oh we have wigs and hats up here.'

"If they need a room to come and just kind of get their composure, just a peaceful atmosphere, just to kind of regain focus, that's why they're up here, too."

Boone, a Louisiana native, attended the University of Louisiana at Monroe, receiving her bachelor's degree in radiology in 2003, and specialized in radiation therapy at Washburn University in Topeka, Kan.

She got married and moved to Vicksburg in May 2003. She did her clinicals at Merit Health from 2004 to 2005, and after graduation, she began working at the hospital.

"It was a great opportunity," she says.

Howington had the idea to start the boutique around the middle of the year last year. After she mentioned it to Boone, she began to get ideas for the spaces.

"It's like, 'Oh, I can do this, and I can do that,' and 'If you make this, then I can make it look like this,'" Boone says.

" ... I just had a vision, and I took it and ran with it. In my mind, I had the colors picked, whatever was very soothing and peaceful, something was traditional, timeless; it wouldn't go out of style, just something that could carry on later on and touch future patient's lives."

Boone, Howington and other Cancer Center staff members donated money, time and help to making the boutique come to fruition.

"Everything in here is made with love," Boone says.

She says that the center received the wigs by chance. An employee who works in the pharmacy who wants to remain anonymous donated more than 100 wigs. Most of the hats come from Knots of Love in California, though some locals have also knitted hats for patients. Currently, the center has between 250 and 275 hats and close to 100 wigs, though not all of the wigs and hats can be on display. The hats, wigs and scarves are free for patients.

"We make time for them," Boone says. "When they come for their treatment, we'll scoot up here and let them take their time and do whatever they need to do."

For the staff at the Cancer Center, Magnolia Garden is also a way to boost cancer patients' self esteem.

"They feel like their body is out of control, so they feel like they're losing control of everything, and a lot of times, they do lose their hair, depending on what type of treatment they receive, so it's important for them to have wigs and hats to feel better about themselves because they're going through so much," Boone says.

"This helps them get through the process."

For more information about Magnolia Garden or the Cancer Center at Merit Health Central (1850 Chadwick Drive), call 601-376-2074 or visit merithealthcentral.com.