Early this year, my brother Alex was diagnosed with a high-grade Spindle Cell Sarcoma [Bone cancer] in his femur. It was a devasting shock to us and everyone who knew him. He was 23 at the time, an amazing person who has brought joy into the lives of his colleagues and friends with his baking, and uplifting personality. He doesn’t smoke or vape, a relatively active and healthy person, which goes to show cancer can affect anyone, and that is the scariest part.
Over these past few months, charities such as Teenage Cancer Trust, Clic Sargent & Jersey Cancer Relief have helped us through this entire process. We .couldn’t have begun to get through this without them. Teenage Cancer Trust provided Alex with a comforting ward that makes his weeks in Southampton hospital bearable as he suffers through multiple biopsies, tests, scans, injections and his chemo which is ongoing until September. Clic Sargent & Jersey Cancer Relief are local charities who have helped pay for several expenses, such as travel & hotel costs.
But it’s not just us they help, they are at the forefront of helping hundreds of people diagnosed with cancer, and the families affected, which is why we want to create awareness and support for these charities, to say thank you and to help them support many more families who will need just as much as we did, if not more.
Alongside the general charity events, I have decided to shave my hair and donate it to Little Princess Trust, who help donate wigs to people suffering hair loss, from causes such as chemo. But not only am I doing this to donate hair, but also to create awareness, which is why a couple of friends are joining me in shaving our heads on this charity day. Personally, losing the hair is also a way of helping my brother, not feel so awkward with his hair loss, and probably even make him laugh a bit, which he very much needs right now.
These charities mean the world to us, and the same to hundreds if not thousands of other families affected by cancer. This is the reason I want this charity day to happen, living through it ourselves make us realise what a tremendous difference these people can make, and we cannot thank them enough.