Elle, Braves the Shave on the 1st June

Hello everyone, thanks for taking the time to read this post. Let’s start with a little introduction. My name is Elle, I am 32 years old, mother of one beautiful 6 year old daughter and partner to a workaholic. My Mum sadly passed away from Kidney Cancer just over 4 years ago and I now believe this is my time to shine and do something big in her memory while raising money for a very good cause to help support and raise awareness for other kidney cancer patients and their families. My Mum was just 54 years old when she passed away and we had 18 beautiful months with her from diagnosis to her passing. Her diagnosis showed that her cancer was already at stage 4 when it was discovered which was such shocking news as up until a few weeks prior to her diagnosis my Mum didn’t have any symptoms other than fatigue and a bad back which she always put down to working two jobs and “getting old”. It was a lot to take in as a family but Mum’s positivity and determination to beat cancer bought myself and my brother closer together and it only strengthened our bond as a family.
 
I have been thinking about shaving my hair off for some time now and even more so during these crazy unprecedented times we are all experiencing on a global scale. If now is not the time then when will be? I have shared my thoughts on social media about embarking on this journey before actually doing it and it saddens me that so many people have felt the need to contact me and plead with me to not shave my hair.
 
Here are just some of the negative comments I have received:
◦ You are pretty the way you are
◦ You won’t be the same without your long hair
◦ I’ve only ever known you with long hair so it will be weird
◦ You’ll regret it when you go through the awkward short hair stage
◦ What will your partner think?
◦ You’re in a partnership now so you have to take into consideration what he thinks
◦ Your Mum would hate it
◦ What would Holly think of you with no hair?
◦ Why don’t you just cut it short like a normal person?
◦ There are so many other ways of raising money for charity
and many, MANY more messages and comments, so so rude I do not wish to share them publicly.
These only make me more determined than ever to do this to raise money for a very worthy cause.
I just want to put it out there that I am NOT here to “look good” for you. I am NOT any less feminine if I shave my hair off. I am NOT going to suddenly stop being me because my hair is shorter. Please remember this is MY body and if our friendship is based on me having long hair then I am sorry but I can no longer be friends with you anymore. If you disagree so strongly with me having short hair then I ask you to please exist this page and then exit my life. Having long hair should not be associated with femininity just as equally as having short hair should not be associated with masculinity, this is 2020 people!!!
For those of you beautiful humans that are able to see past the fact that this is so much bigger than just shaving my hair off then I salute you, I adore you and admire you. Thank you for your support even if you are unable to donate towards this cause then thank you for spurring me on throughout this life changing choice.
 
Who knew that powerful words could determine you to continue to do something! Elle is braving the shae on the 1st June and raising vital funds to support our work, which we are ever so grateful for. Elle set her original target at £700 and has smashed this so now going for £1000 can you help her reach it? Click here to visit Elle’s Justgiving Page  
A Big Thank you to Elle for choosing to raise awareness and funds for us! We hear these words a lot that Elle mentions about her mum’s diagnosis – ”Mum didn’t have any symptoms other than fatigue and a bad back which she always put down to working two jobs and ‘getting old’ ” and with more awareness of kidney cancer and its symptoms we hope to tackle this sooner!
If you would like to help us raise awareness or fundraise click here or email fundraising@kcuk.org.uk