When cancer patient begins to lose her hair, she puts on makeup, strips, and hides in the bathroom for a prank: ’Gollum or grandmother from hell’

Navigating a cancer diagnosis is hard, but Tamia Overes has embraced humor to make her way through it. The First Nations artist from Vancouver was recently diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer and chose to deal with the hair loss from treatment in an incredibly creative way. She decided to lean into the look so that she could pull off an epic prank on her husband, Sasha, before she shaved her head.

The post, shared on Instagram and TikTok, went on to rack up over 2.2 million views. The video begins with the overlay text, “Scare Sasha with me.” At the same time, we see Tamia working on an intimidating old-age makeup, mentioning her goal: “Gollum or grandmother from hell.” She then contours her cheekbones and even jokingly taps her brush over her pet bird, which is perched on her shoulder, with the overlay text noting, “animal testing.”

Tamia pulls off her scarf and runs her fingers through her almost non-existent hair, telling her audience, “I have to scare him. I think we need to put some water in.” As she wet the strands in the bathroom, her pet bird in tow, she kept the commentary going, noting, “Trying to turn myself into Gollum. It’s kind of giving sleep paralysis demon. Oh, the wet is giving Gollum. I’ve kept this level of hair to scare my husband, and then I can finally cut my little Gollum strands off.”

Is Laughter the best medicine?

Once her hair is damp and the lights are dimmed, she tests her bit, saying, “Ah, my precious!” before bursting into laughter. She then hid her phone to record the moment. Then, with the stage set, she informs her viewers, “I’m about to strip down completely naked. Guys, he’s home.” The resulting footage is gold. 

As Sasha walks through the house searching for her, he can be heard asking the bird, “Hey, dude, where is your mother?” After a few seconds, he walks into the bathroom and immediately screams, causing Tamia to break into fresh laughter. As he groans, Sasha asks, “Why are you naked? What the f—? Oh my God. Oh my God. Are you kidding me? I thought we were done with this b-llsh-t. Ew. What the f—? Ahhh… are you recording me?”

According to the Mayo Clinic, hair loss as a result of chemotherapy is exceedingly common. These strong medicines are a grueling experience and attack fast-growing cells, including hair follicles all over the body.

This is where laughter can come in as an excellent coping tool. According to the Mayo Clinic, laughter can be a powerful tool for stress relief. In the short run, it also allegedly helps to stimulate organs and soothe tension during challenging times. In the long term, it boosts the immune system, relieves pain, and boosts your mood. Mayo Clinic notes that it’s the best tool to deal with a difficult situation. 

The reaction from her audience was overwhelmingly positive. Many were tickled by Sasha’s reaction, with one Instagrammer writing, “The way he 1) talks to the animals like they’re people who will verbally respond and 2) immediately clutches his eyes from the trauma. green flags!” Another user wrote, “The only time a straight man screams “why are you naked?!” On TikTok, users were just as amused, writing, “I love how his concern was that you were naked.”

Other commenters were in awe of Tamia’s attitude. One user wrote, “I love that even in the midst of everything you’re going through, you still find the time to have fun and play pranks on your hubby. You’re an inspiration. Thank you for sharing a little of your life with us.” One TikToker noted,  “Girl, your energy while going through something so awful… it’s inspiring.”

Others appreciated the humor, with one user sharing, “lmao I called my remaining chemo hair Gollum hair as well.”