Ian Peppiatt
Shaving my lovely hair
Fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support
Story
Those of you that know me will be aware that I have been growing my hair since 1996 and have spent over half of my life (and all my years as an adult) with long hair. I am precious over it (not in the wash it ever day kind of way, but the never want it to go away kind of way).
However, this summer my housemate from University was diagnosed with having Myeloma, which is cancer of the bone marrow. She has started treatment and is beginning to lose her hair as a result. You can read Emma's regularly updated blog at ejbones.wordpress.com
I am shaving my head for two reasons, firstly to offer what little support I can that my friend is not on her own, and secondly to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support, who Emma says have been amazing since her diagnosis.
I am in the fortunate position of being able to choose to shave my hair, whereas my friend is not. Therefore, I urge you to please donate as much as you can afford, and if possible Gift Aid your donation (as it is then worth more).
I will update with details of when the hair is being shaved once it is confirmed, but it is likely to be before the end of October.
Remember to read ejbones.wordpress.com
...and if anyone has any money left, my shopping list for the forseable future is a good hat (and possibly a large drink!)
UPDATE - 7-March-2013
We have set the date for hair cutting as the 16th March 2013. Expect some pictures to be added around that time, thanks again for your support, and if we can raise some more money, that would be superb - it is really a great organisation, as Emma's blog can attest: ejbones.wordpress.com
Thanks, Ian
UPDATE - 14-December-2012
Apologies for the slowness in me thanking you all for your amazing generosity! I honestly never thought I'd reach the £1000 mark, but to have smashed it means the world to me, and I know that MacMillan will use the money very wisely to support even more people.
Secondly, some good news: Emma still has hair, so I still have mine for the time being. However, she will undergo higher dose of chemo soon, so the head shaving will likely occur quite suddenly! Apologies again for not having shaved it yet - it will happen. The money is a major reason why I'm doing this, however, the larger reason is to support my friend, so I hope you can understand why it hasn't happened yet. If you'd like to follow Emma's progress (and how she feels about it all), read her regularly updated blog at http://ejbones.wordpress.com/.
When the hair does get shaved, I will donate it to a wig maker who will hopefully use it to help other people.
Many, many thanks again for your support.
I hope you have a very happy Christmas, and I promise to send pictures once the shaving is complete (hopefully the weather will get warmer!!)
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.