Opinions and Responses

About Appearance Care Support

My son developed alopecia areata when he was one year old and rapidly lost all of his hair. While attending Nursery School, he began wearing a knit hat to prevent injuries. When the Nursery School was privatized, the children’s marks inside the school changed from ladybugs to all being face photos, and we spent time discussing this with the teachers. When he entered Elementary and Junior High Schools, I was given opportunities to speak in front of Parents or Guardians to seek understanding, and I made similar efforts before he advanced to junior high school. Although I have protected my son through my own efforts, it is still the case that a My Number Card cannot be issued if he wears a hat, and for high school entrance exams, proof photos with a hat are not accepted without negotiation and permission from the principal. In some cases, he was even told that he might have to take the exam in a separate room, even at metropolitan schools. My son has lost not only his hair but also his eyelashes and eyebrows due to an autoimmune disease that no one can control, and even if hair grows, it quickly falls out. There are times when he doesn’t grow any hair at all, and there will likely be times when his expression is perceived as stern. He is finally about to start taking a medication approved last year, but because it is an immunosuppressant, he is more susceptible to illness and prone to blood clots, so he is beginning a treatment that is, in a sense, life-risking. Alopecia areata itself does not take life, but being spoken about because of his appearance damages his mental health, and the lack of understanding from others could potentially take his life, which is terrifying as a parent. While searching for companies that provide free wig support, I learned that support has also started in municipalities within Tokyo. I also found out that Inagi City has not addressed this at all.
Please also check the Appearance Care Support Program (subsidies for wig purchase costs, etc.) on the Tokyo Cancer Portal Site. There are also proper support services that are not limited to cancer.
By the way, the medication Litfulo, which he is about to start taking, is covered by insurance and costs 50,000 yen per month.
Please consider providing assistance.

Response

Appearance care is understood as support provided to individuals troubled by changes in their appearance due to illnesses such as cancer or their treatments, enabling them to live authentically within their communities.
We recognize that some municipalities within Tokyo implement subsidy programs for the purchase of wigs and epitheses (prosthetic devices) as part of appearance care. While only a few of these also cover cases beyond cancer patients, such as injuries or alopecia, our city, operating under a limited budget, prioritizes issues to address and implements various health promotion projects including Vaccination and cancer screenings.
Regarding the subsidy for the purchase costs related to appearance care that was requested, we will conduct research on the necessary support measures for its future implementation.

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