Joanna Prosser lost her parents through cancer and has been in remission herself since February 2021.
She’s had her head shaved to raise money for Brave the Shave, the fundraising appeal run by Macmillan Cancer Support. You can still donate to her fundraiser using this link.
Joanna explained why she chose to have all her hair cut off: “There’s a bit of a back story to it in that both my parents had terminal cancer at the same time back in 2013 and we lost them both within 6 months of each other.
“I was then diagnosed in 2016 and treated with surgery but in a highly rare occurrence, some cells were left behind and it formed a new tumour that in invaded my colon. I had to have major surgery that left me with a permanent colostomy. I then had to go through chemo and radiotherapy which was all during the second Covid lockdown so I inevitably caught Covid and was in a bad way in hospital for a few weeks over Christmas and New Year 2020.
“But I’m pleased to say I’ve been in remission since February 2021 which is incredible as cases like mine (of the very few cases worldwide) don’t tend to have positive outcomes.
“Macmillan helped me through both diagnosis and were there for my mum and dad so I really wanted to do something in gratitude. I didn’t lose my hair during chemo as it was cisplatin chemo so Braving the Shave felt like the perfect thing to do.”