On December 22nd I'm shaving my head, which you may not think is any kind of a big deal, but take a look at the photo. I have a LOT of hair.

But why on earth are you going to shave your head Juliet?

Almost exactly a decade ago my father, Jack Vorster, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. He was given 18 months to live, and died on April 19th 2009, he was 76 years old. Dad had three lots of chemo treatment, but it was only on the third round of treatment that he lost his hair. He was born under the star sign of Leo, and his hair, although short, was very much his crowning glory. Having it all fall out was about the hardest part of the treatment for Dad.

Charity number 1 - Little Princess Trust

This got me thinking about what it must be like for a little girl, or a teenager to lose her hair during treatment. I found out about Little Princess Trust from my hair dresser. You can follow this link to find out more about them and the work they do: 
http://www.littleprincesses.org.uk/about-us/background
In thinking about how I could make a difference, it seemed like an obvious choice to me - get people to sponsor me to get my head shaved. As well as the money we raise for the Little Princess Trust, my cut hair will be sent to them to be made into a wig.

Charity number 2 - CANCERactive

When Dad got sick I knew nothing about cancer treatment other than what the mainstream media told me. Over the intervening years I have educated myself, partly for me, and partly for others. I have become passionate about complimentary and alternative treatments. Although it’s hard to believe when we only listen to the mass media, people all around the world are healing from cancer every day using methods that don’t involve chemo and radiotherapy.

My second chosen charity is CANCERactive. Their mission is to offer more information on more cancer options to give you more personal choice. You can find out more about their why and the work they do here: 
https://tinyurl.com/y9puevk6

If everyone I’m connected to via social media donated £1 or $1 or 1 of whatever your currency is, we could instantly raise over £3500 for these two great causes. Could you spare the cost of a good coffee for one of these charities? You get to pick, but please know that even the smallest amount of money makes a difference.

I’ve set a £2000 target, but I’d love to be able to achieve double that. I think my hair is worth at least that much. :)

On the day, we’ll be live streaming the cut and shave, probably via Facebook, or possibly live on YouTube, or maybe both. I’ll let you know nearer the time.

I was telling the team at Harper’s, my hair salon, that I now have a date set. Another customer overheard and gave me a £5 right there and then. A complete stranger, who’d never met me, but believed in what I was doing. Will you join her?