To view our videos, you need to
enable JavaScript. Learn how.
install Adobe Flash 9 or above. Install now.

Then come back here and refresh the page.

A manicure, pedicure, some highlights and a blow dry might be any woman's idea of a relaxing day at the spa, but for some women who are undergoing cancer treatment, it means a lot more.

“Usually I never really think about treating myself, and when you are going through cancer treatment, you really do have to think about yourself first,” says patient Hilda Vasquez.

Women go to the James Corbett Studio for a free four-hour day at the spa. It's part of Corbett's not-for-profit organization Hair 2 Help. The women are from Hope Lodge, the American Cancer Society's free temporary housing program.

“Take them out of their element, give them a respite, a sanctuary, a day retreat,” says Corbett.

Corbett lost his father and stepfather to cancer and says his mother was diagnosed with pre-leukemia a couple of years ago. He says it's important to help patients like Hilda Vasquez take their mind off the disease.

“For those few minutes I was in there, it was a sense of release. Everything that fell on my shoulders for the past month and a half was released,” says Vasquez.

“Right now, the way that we deal with cancer is by really aggressive and breaking down and it takes weeks months to see the results, so we are able to give them immediate results through acupuncture, reflexology, or body treatment,” says Corbett.

Corbett says he also realized the importance of giving back to the primary caregivers, who oftentimes live with the patients during their stay at Hope Lodge.

“We resist taking all these really cool events for ourselves because we would rather the patient have it because they are the ones who are living the pain and the nightmare,” says caregiver Johanna Stefferson.

Corbett says he hopes to hold the spa days twice a month.

“It is so gratifying for somebody like Hilda to say I felt selfish and I’m forgetting that I have kids for a day,” says Corbett.

For giving cancer patients and their caregivers a day at the spa, James Corbett is the latest New Yorker of the Week.