Head shaving party shows family bond

“I’m going right down to the scalp,” said Pauline, talking of her decision to have her head shaved along with Janine this Saturday night, August 2.

“When someone goes through cancer there is so little you can do for them,” said Donacloney woman Pauline, “but then I thought - I don’t want Janine to be the only one sitting there with a bald head, I can join her and through this I can support her and reaffirm the whole family is behind her.

“Janine was a bit taken aback when I told her, but then when I mentioned it to her Aunt, Sharon Harrison, she wanted to do it too and we decided we could raise money for Cancer Research too.

“Sometimes you say things without really thinking about them, and at first I thought ‘what have I said?’ But then I thought if this will help her, it’s worth it. I just wanted to get behind her and support her.”

This is the second time Dromara woman Janine has been diagnosed with cancer, having been given the all-clear last June.

“Devastated doesn’t even come close to describing how this feels” said Pauline.

Janine is now on her second chemotherapy session and is expected to start loosing her hair by the third round, next week, and so the date for the ‘head shaving ceremony’ was set for this Saturday.

“We decided to make a real family party of the night. We could have had it done in the hairdressers at the hospital, but we decided we wanted it done in the full comforts of home with friends and family cheering us on.

“We’ve talked the men into having their hair dyed pink, but we’re just not sure what to do with the bald ones!

“We want to make it a happy occasion, not a miserable one.

Janine has been touched by the support her family has shown.

She said: “It shows the love within a family that’s unbreakable. I’ve cried feeling overwhelmed that people would do this for me, then I realised the bond. It’s a bond everyone in our family has - we stick together, we help each other, our love knows no bounds.”

“We are having a party for the head shaving ceremony. We want to hear big cheers when we shave our heads not tears. We want it to be a joyous occasion to show that families stick together.”

To support Janine visit www.justgiving.com/Janine-Hogg2014.