Maria Lawal is now thriving with her own wig business after beating cancer
The now 29-year-old, who was an active athlete in her teenage years, started developing a lump on her left thigh, but says she never dealt with any other of cancer’s common symptoms.I never lost weight or I felt more fatigued – it was just the lump that was there. Healthwise I still felt fine, I was still up and about,” she recalls. “But then, a few months went by and the lump obviously presented itself to be more prominent where it was starting to interfere with my day to day activities.
Maria described it as an “upsetting and traumatic” experience, however, says the worst part was walking into her local wig shop and finding that nothing was her style or matched her afro hair texture when the time came for her to eventually wear a wig. The businesswoman caters to all women from brunettes, gingers and those who just want a “dash of purple” in their new found look as a part of making them feel “bold and powerful” throughout their recovery.
As a rising entrepreneur, Maria is clear about her message of wanting countless women to see themselves as “a survivor and not a cancer patient” whilst aiming to connect with other cancer charities about her incredible business venture.Maria, who is now married and has a 18-month-old son named Zyon, and is now supporting Cancer Research UK in their mission for people across Greater Manchester to donate regularly in order to fund long term projects that could lead to new breakthroughs.
In 2021, Cancer Research UK was able to spend around £29 million in the North West on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research.