Supreme Court justice battles disease from the bench.

2003 DEC 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- A blindfolded woman, holding a set of scales, is the traditional image of justice.

The latest face is that of a woman with no hair - and a dynamic smile.

Florida State Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente, who recently completed 3 weeks of treatment for breast cancer, has abandoned her wig. She had been wearing one to cover up hair loss caused by chemotherapy.

"I have been amazed by the response," said Pariente. "All I had to do is go bald, and I get these very, very positive responses. I've kept the letters from survivors and women going through their own breast-cancer battles. My decision [to go public] helped them to find strength in their daily lives. There's such a common thread here of women trying to do their best to deal with this terrible disease. My husband said, 'You can't put your wig on now."'

When she initially donned the wig, "I wanted to do whatever I could to look just like I did before," Pariente said. "The reaction I got from people was, 'I love your new hairdo."'

But as summer heat rose, her wig became hot and uncomfortable, "and I felt somehow I was putting something over on people," Pariente said. "Why was I reluctant to show my actual state?

"I started not to wear the wig at work, and it feels so comfortable," she continued. "I thought, 'What would be on the down side?' It was only my own sense of self, whether I felt unattractive. I weighed against that my personal comfort, and I thought it would be a positive message to portray. ... Women do not have to feel this is something to hide."