Friends to shave for cancer
When Heather Fendall discovered she had breast cancer in August she decided she had to shave her head.
‘‘I don’t want to lose my hair, I don’t want it falling out - I decided I wanted to get it shaved off,’’ Fendall said.
She wanted make the most of the shave and try to raise money for the Breast Cancer Foundation. Little did she know she would have company.
On Saturday Fendall and three of her friends will be shaving their head in Ha¯ wera to fundraise and raise awareness around breast cancer.
Katherine Pollard, Sallie Barr and Natalie Douglas will join their friend for the shave.
‘‘We wouldn’t let her do it on her own,’’ Pollard said.
‘‘As soon as Heather said she was going to get her hair shaved, I was like ‘I’ll do it with ya’, it was like you didn’t even think twice.’’
Barr set up the Take Action fundraising page for her friend.
She encouraged people to ‘‘give up buying a coffee or beer’’ for the day and donate to the cause instead.
Fendall said they had a goal of $500.
At midday on Tuesday they already had more than $700 donated to the cause.
‘‘I just thought if I can do my bit to raise money for some research or to help someone else who doesn’t have money.’’
Fendall has always been proactive with regular checks, and wants to encourage others to do the same.
‘‘I just want people to be aware, check yourself, get mammograms.’’
This is only the start of Fendall’s 15-month journey, but she wants to make the most of it, and is already thanking her supporters.
‘‘It’s not just my journey, there’s so many people out there,’’ she said.
The Breast Cancer Foundation website says eight women a day get diagnosed with breast cancer in New Zealand.
The women will be doing the shave at 9am on Saturday October 28 at Mane Street Hair at 209 High Street, Ha¯ wera.
The encourage people to come along, donate some money, watch and even join the shave if they please.
Once the shave is done the women will also hold a Pink Bake Sale in the Ha¯ wera Square from 10am-12pm to raise more money.