Cancer victim's shock bar removal

Margaret Peeti says the bar staff knew she has cancer. Photo / APN

A Wanganui cancer sufferer says she was left shocked after being told to leave a city bar because she refused to take off the hat she wears to cover her hair loss.

Margaret Peeti, 64, says she was so embarrassed when asked to leave the Spirit'd bar that she cried.

"I felt horrible and embarrassed because the place was full of people and I never go without my hat."

Bar staff are unrepentant, saying the ban on hats is the owner's policy and was put in place for safety after the bar was robbed.

Mrs Peeti has been receiving cancer treatment since April. She was told she had only two months to live if she did not have chemotherapy and radiation treatment.

She said the staff member who asked her to remove her hat on November 4 knew she had cancer because she had shared a hospital ward with her mother.

The staff member initially gave Mrs Peeti a kiss and chatted to her, then went away, only to return and tell her, "You have to take your hat off."

Mrs Peeti replied she was not going take her hat off and offered to show the woman the treatment card she carries with her.

The staff member went back to her manager but returned with the ultimatum: "If you're not going to take your hat off you have to go."

The manager of Spirit'd, who did not want to give his name, said it was the owner's policy that no hats were worn in the bar.

He said the bar had two other customers who also had no hair and they removed their hats.

"If we ask an 18-year-old male to remove his hat and he sees another customer wearing hers, then he too could make an excuse."

Mrs Peeti said she also went to the St John's Club and RSA, and they allowed her to wear her hat.

When she was at a club in Lower Hutt, she was asked by an employee if there was a reason she was wearing the hat. Mrs Peeti replied that she had her treatment card, to which he replied, "That's good enough for me."

- APN

Wanganui Chronicle