EASTHAMPTON — Andrew Morse estimates that his hairdresser and longtime family friend, Lisa Godin, has given him over a hundred haircuts since he was a kid.
Now, Godin, the owner of Lisa’s Hair Shop, is pulling together members of the community to support Morse, 31, who is currently battling cancer after doctors found a tumor in his left lung last August.
“I’ve known Andy and his family for years, and situations come up in life and you just feel like you need to reach out and help,” Godin said in a recent interview at her hair salon on Route 10. The proceeds from a “cut-a-thon” and raffle, on March 9 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Lisa’s Hair Shop, will go towards Morse’s medical costs and treatment.
Godin has known Morse’s aunt, Louise Labrie, since they were in kindergarten, and she is also friends with Andrew’s mother, Theresa Morse. Morse, who grew up in Southampton, went to school at Hampshire Regional in Westhampton and got his associate’s degree in communications from Holyoke Community College. He now lives in Easthampton and works as a writing tutor at HCC, helping students brainstorm ideas and edit drafts of papers. “It feels good to help them out with something they are struggling with,” Morse said. “It’s nice — it’s more one-on-one than a classroom.”
In the fall of 2017, Andrew Morse sat down in Godin’s chair to get a haircut a month after proposing to his now-wife, Michelle Morse, on her birthday weekend in September. At the time, Andrew’s father, Ken Morse, was battling cancer himself, and his condition was becoming dire.
“When he was diagnosed, he was given a two- to three-year timeline,” Andrew said. Ken’s health remained steady for the first year and a half, but then it began to decline rapidly.
When Godin learned of Ken’s condition, she encouraged the young couple to do a wedding ceremony as quickly as possible.
“I had basically said, ‘Go down to Town Hall and see my friend Barbara and get the marriage license going,’” Godin said.
Within a few weeks of that conversation with Godin, and other close friends and family, Andrew and Michelle arranged a wedding ceremony in Southampton with Ken as best man. Ken died eight days later.
“That was really special because he was always the life of the party,” Andrew said. “We definitively wanted him to be there for when we got married.”
A couple months after their wedding, Andrew sought medical advice about a lingering cough. In August, an endoscopy and biopsy revealed a cancerous tumor in Andrew’s lung, and subsequent scans determined that his cancer was in stage 4 and had metastasized into areas in his ribs, spine, pelvis and hips. Morse began treatment at Mass General Cancer Center at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in September, and since then, treatment from a targeted therapy drug, Tagrisso, has reduced Morse’s tumor nearly in half.
“When we were sitting in the room learning about the diagnosis, I was like, ‘OK, give me all the information, and once I have it, I’ll make sure I understand it,’” Morse recalled. “And how do I move forward?”
Michelle Morse, 31, chimed in, “You’ve always been a super-positive person, and it’s proven that people get through illnesses quicker with their positivity.”
Meanwhile, Godin felt compelled to make use of her salon to bring in community members for a fundraising effort.
“How can we use this space in that four-hour period to help the most?” Godin wondered aloud.
The benefit event will include donations from more than 20 local businesses for a raffle, $20 haircuts with proceeds towards Morse’s medical costs, and a dollar-a-minute massage chair (courtesy of A Quiet Touch Message Therapeutic). Raffle tickets are available for purchase at the hair salon and at Ted’s Jewelers in Southampton.
“I know more businesses in town now, and everyone was super generous, really open, responsive and helpful,” Godin said.
Luis Fieldman can be reached at lfieldman@gazettenet.com