Washington Township hair salon raises $3,000 for ailing teenager
Published: May 23, 2005
With each snip of his scissors, Martino Cartier raised more money for a Mullica Hill teenager battling cancer.
Cartier Salon and Day Spa on Sunday hosted a cut-a-thon, which raised $3,000 on behalf of Christopher Forst, 16.
Christopher, who had a cancerous tumor removed from his neck, is the third member of his family to be stricken with cancer.
His father, Wayne, survived throat cancer but died of pancreatic cancer in 2003.
His mother, Julia, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1997 and liver cancer in 2003. Both are in remission.
“With cancer, you just don’t know,” said Julia Forst, noting that while Christopher is doing well, his cancer could return.
Salon owner Martino Cartier heard about the Forst family’s plight in church, but he had never met them until Sunday.
“God has blessed my life,” Cartier said. “I could never give back what he has given me, but I will try for the rest of my life to do it.”
This is not Cartier’s first cut-a-thon.
Bobby Milward, who died of a brain tumor in 2002, was the inspiration for two similar events. That meant his mother, Heidi Milward of Pitman, did not have to worry about finding money for her mortgage payments for an entire year.
“I could put my mind where it was really important and not on finances,” said Heidi Milward, who got a haircut Sunday.
For Julia Forst, Sunday’s event was an example of all that is good in the world.
“I am deeply appreciative,” she said.
A dozen staff members supported Cartier in the cut-a-thon, which occurred on a day the business is normally closed.
Motivation for employees like Cyndi Edwards and Karen Mollo was simple.
“We are both parents,” said Edwards, who volunteered her time on her 36th birthday. “You can’t even know how they must feel.”
Julia Forst said her faith has helped her through the ordeal. Yet she admitted it has been tested.
“You’re thinking this can’t happen again,” she said. “And now you’re standing there and there are doctors saying your son has cancer. You look at the doctor and you think, ‘He just didn’t say that.’ ”
For now, Julia Forst is happy that her son, an avid diver, is getting physical therapy at a children’s hospital in Wilmington, Del., which has a pool he can use.
And she’s happy that her son, who had to seek many medical opinions after complaining about pain in his neck where his tumor was found, has been properly diagnosed.
“If you believe your child is sick, you have to be persistent,” she said.
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