I’m doing ‘a Jessie J’ on August 23rd to raise awareness – and around £3,000 – for lymphoedema services in Wales.
Lymphoedema affects around 7,000 people in Wales (that’s around two and half percent of the population). Cruelly, it frequently strikes after surgery for breast cancer, as if that hadn’t been devastating enough.  I became aware of it after observing interviews with women who attend the lymphoedema clinic at Singleton Hospital, Swansea. The interviews are conducted by one of my PhD students, Angela Williams, who is learning more about the impact of living with lymphoedema after breast cancer treatment. I was so moved when I heard their stories and how stoic the ladies are in the face of the condition.
I’m going under the clippers on August 23rd and by then I hope to have raised enough money to   buy an intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) system plus  12 chamber arm and leg garments that can be loaned to patients of the Singleton Hospital lymphoedema clinic . Also, money raised will buy garments and kit to help equip the mobile lymphoedema unit that Tenovus is launching in October to serve all of Wales. The money will be raised via the St David’s Medical Foundation and all of it will go towards the above goals.
Please follow me and spread the word in my run-up to 23rd August, on Twitter at @frapport and using the hashtag #acloseshave. Or like me on Facebook “Shaving my head for lymphoedema research”. Donations can be made via the Just Giving website – http://www.justgiving.com/lymphoedema  or you can contact the St David’s Medical Foundation direct at http://www.stdavidsmedicalfoundation.com . Thank you so much, Frances.