It’s never easy thing to find out someone you love has a serious illness. It’s even harder if the disease has come back a second time. This was the case for the friends and family of Heart Lake resident Betty Kennedy, who recently found out her ovarian cancer has returned.
Kennedy is currently going through her second round of treatments. In light of her diagnosis, and because of the loss of her own hair due to chemotherapy, she is participating in an Edmonton-based initiative called the St. Valentine’s Day Hair Massacure, which raises money through donations to local charities that support patients and their families going through life-threatening illnesses. Her friends and family are fully supporting her fundraising and her health battle.
“On day 15 of the chemo, my hair naturally starts to fall out so the timing of the Hair Massacure in February works out perfectly,” Kennedy said. “I read the story behind the project and it was so amazing and I was really touched so I wanted to get involved.”
The initiative started in 2002 by a family whose young daughter was diagnosed with cancer. The mass head shave and fundraiser is as much an awareness campaign as it is a money maker.
Kennedy was moved so much by the initiative that in order to prepare for her treatments, she dyed her hair bright pink before her latest round of chemo. In support of her and her battle, Kennedy’s friends, family and colleagues at the Heart Lake First Nations Band Office got together without her knowledge to dye their hair pink as well.
On Jan. 23, almost three-dozen people from Heart Lake showed up at the Health Centre to get their hair dyed in support of Kennedy.
“They surprised me and they all got together and organized this special day to support me and Hair Massacure,” Kennedy said. “ I love Heart Lake, and the people there are my people, my friends, my family, and I appreciate them and their support daily. It’s so heart-warming.”
Those who participated in the Heart Lake ‘pink day’ received help from Serina Lavalle, a hair stylist at Bold & Beautiful Salon on Lac La Biche’s Main Street, who did the actually dyeing of the hair. She said she was happy to be part of the special day.
“I wanted to get involved because I recently had an uncle die from cancer and anyway I can help I want to,” Lavallee said. “I try to do a good deed a day and it is something I would do again in the future.”
In addition to dying their hair pink, Kennedy’s friends and family have also donated towards her Hair Massacure campaign. To date, she has been able to raise $3, 277. About 15 people made the trip to Edmonton with Kennedy on Feb. 3 for support and to shave their heads at West Edmonton Mall. She said eight of them shaved their heads with her and the rest were there for support.
“This project is so important because when you are facing a disease, you have a lot of time to reflect and I realized that I want to help where I can,” Kennedy said. “There is such a big need for research and there are not enough tests for women’s cancers. Anything that helps support cancer treatments and cancer patients is a worthwhile cause.”
The charities supported by The Hair Massacure include the Stollery Children’s Hospital, the Make A Wish Foundation and the Ronald McDonald House of Northern Alberta.
The Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation cares primarily for children living in northern Alberta and parts of western Canada to help make their stay and treatments as comfortable as possible.
The Make A Wish Foundation of Northern Alberta, which grants wishes to children who are fighting serious illnesses and helps make them feel stronger, more energetic, and more able to fight their life-threatening battles.
The Ronald McDonald House of Northern Alberta, which provides a temporary home-away-from-home for families of children with a serious illness who travel to Edmonton for medical treatment. The group also helps to offer comfort and support to those families during their time of crisis.
For more information on the project and donating, visit www.hairmassacure.com.
