0:30
- culture
- March 1, 2022
'Jeopardy!' contestant plays without wig
Christine Whelchel explained why she competed without her wig on Monday's show.
\"Go go go, Christine! 🙌🏼 This was me with my husband, 3 months after my last chemo session,\" wrote one commenter.
Another shared a smiling selfie and commented, \"Go Christine! from a fellow warrior.\"
Whelchel explained in an earlier Q-and-A last week that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago. Shortly after learning about her diagnosis, she said she decided to try her luck and take the \"Jeopardy!\" test, the first step in getting on to the game show. Whelchel also said she is currently cancer-free.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hair loss or alopecia is a common side effect of some cancer treatments like chemotherapy. After Whelchel was featured as the Play of the Day on \"Good Morning America\" Tuesday, co-anchor Robin Roberts mentioned that cancer patients who wear wigs don't always do so for themselves.
\"Sometimes we wear the wig to put others at ease,\" she pointed out.
\"[Whelchel] showed a lot of strength, a lot of courage. And I'm telling you, people were watching. It makes such a big, big difference,\" Roberts, a cancer survivor herself, added.
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