Rachael ‘braves the shave’ for Macmillan

A medical lab assistant at the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital has raised over £500 for Macmillan Cancer Support by having her shoulder length hair shaved off.

Rachael Phillips signed up to the charity’s ‘Brave the Shave’ campaign after family members were affected by cancer and raised the money through getting sponsored by friends, relatives and colleagues.

She said: “My granny had bowel cancer in her 80’s and overcame it. I’ve also known a couple of people recently who have been helped by Macmillan. It’s an amazing thing to have a support service like Macmillan.”

Rachael also pledged to donate her shaved hair to The Little Princess Trust; a charity that provides real hair wigs to boys and girls across the UK who have sadly lost their own hair through cancer treatment.

Rachael braved the save on the 4th September and had her hair cut off in a seminar room in the RD&E laboratory where she works.

She said: “It went really well and I'm loving the new hair - everyone says it suits me. I can't quite understand people saying it’s really brave to have my head shaved, the brave ones are people facing chemo or radiotherapy who have no guarantee that their hair will grow back.”

“The estimated fundraising total so far is £500, but there are donations still coming in at the moment” she added.

Macmillan provides specialist support to people with cancer and their families. This summer they were asking people to stand proudly alongside men and women who have cancer and be sponsored to shave off their hair for the charity. To find out more about Brave the Shave or to donate visit www.bravetheshave.org.uk