Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Current participants: Fiona Deehan & Viki Ferguson

When, where: Sunday, 3rd December @ 2pm, Christchurch Irish Society Hall, 29 Domain Terrace, Spreydon

Why am I shaving my head and why have I chosen these charities?

Losing one's hair can be quite a distressing part of the cancer sufferers journey. Obviously, it affects some more than others and some take matters into their own hands by getting rid of it themselves to give themselves an element of control over something that relates to their body, taking a little bit of power from the disease. I guess I feel that it makes quite a strong statement of intent to do this and in order to make an impact and raise the most funds possible, I have decided that I need to give people a good reason to support me.

When it comes to Lifeline, they are there when people who are distressed or in crisis need help. More often than not, the people they help suffer from some form of mental illness or anguish. The society we live in today is constantly telling us we're not enough, we must be better and that we are defined by what we do rather than who we are. Shaving my head is a symbol of me responding to that pressure, saying 'I am enough' and 'I am not defined by what I look like' and I would like to encourage others to move away from defining themselves by all of these external factors and focus on self-acceptance. You are enough!