Las Vegas assemblyman, wife face cancer together – with shaved heads
Assemblyman John Hambrick and his wife, Nancy, shaved their heads Wednesday.
She’s battling cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and losing her hair in clumps. He’s taking on the bald look as a sign of support for his wife.
“There is nothing to hide from. You have to face it together,” John Hambrick, R-Las Vegas, said before getting his head shaved.
He called Nancy his life partner and said they had both survived cancer before — breast and prostate 15 and 14 years ago — and would again.
“We’ve had the challenge and we’ll do it again,” Nancy Hambrick said.
John, 68, and Nancy 66, have been married for 47 years. They have two children.
Nancy said the cancer was discovered in August during a routine mammogram. She called herself lucky for finding it.
“I’m not feeling ill,” she said. “I haven’t felt ill.”
Her oncologist told her the survival rate is high for Hodgkin’s.
“My oncologist said if you ever wished for anything, this is the one to wish for,” said Nancy, who sounded positive about her prognosis.
She said she had her first chemotherapy treatment on Oct. 21 and is scheduled to have another one Monday.
The aggressive therapy is scheduled to last from six to eight months, she said.
The couple, who is Catholic, asked supporters to pray for them.
John Hambrick said he couldn’t imagine not going through his wife’s cancer battle every step of the way, even if it meant shaving his head.
“To me this is just a continuing sign of that support,” he said. “Nancy and I have faced other issues head-on before. I will keep shaving my head until Nancy is better.”
“And then we’ll have hair again together,” Nancy added.
The couple got their heads shaved at a barber shop inside South Point.
Contact reporter Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Follow @lmyerslvrj on Twitter.