Friends and Family Shave Heads in Support of Young Cancer Patient

Friends and family of eight-year-old Evie Shallom were devastated when she was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. However, in a moving show of support, those close to Evie have decided to turn this into something positive for others.

Her family made the decision to all get their heads shaved and donate the hair and money raised to Little Princess Trust, a charity providing wigs for children who have lost their hair.
Evie’s mum, Nicola Shallom, explains how the group decision was made: “Evie’s only worry was about losing her hair so her uncle, grandad and I, as well as my friend Sara, said we would shave our hair too.” Nicola's JustGiving page shows that, through this show of support for the Bracknell youngster, the family have raised over £1,500 in donations so far, as well as donating enough hair for four wigs.
Though treatment of Hodgkin's Lymphoma is usually highly successful, treatment can nevertheless be very traumatic, especially for cancer patients as young as little Evie. The schoolgirl, who will undergo a year of treatment including chemotherapy, has shown herself to be extremely courageous through this difficult time. She already has a number of multi-coloured wigs picked out in preparation for her treatment.
Nicola says: “Evie hasn’t moaned once throughout her ordeal and has remained happy, even when she was in pain. She’s being very brave and fearless in her attitude but it has been an ordeal for her.”

Why does chemotherapy cause hair loss?

Chemotherapy is a type of cancer treatment where medicine is used to kill cancer cells. There are many side effects to this type of treatment, one of which being hair loss. This is because the drugs also affect normal cells in the body, including hair follicle cells responsible for generating hair growth. The good news is that the hair loss generally isn’t permanent, and should grow back once chemotherapy treatment is over.

Little Princess Trust

The Belgravia Centre proudly supports Little Princess Trust, a charity that provides real-hair wigs to children with cancer or Alopecia, free of charge throughout the UK and Ireland.