Lochmaben girl Karen Pollard, 21, has donated her long locks to the Little Princess Trust, a charity who provide free wigs for boys and girls who have lost their hair through treatment for cancer, or as a result of other conditions.
Oxford University student Karen, who is studying medicine, cropped her hair last month, spurred on by the memory of her own grandmother’s cancer when she was a child.
She said: “I think the holistic care of those with cancer is something that is really important, having heard the experiences of my grandmother, who had cancer when I was a child.
“A part of this is enabling sufferers to feel as normal as possible, including the provision of hairpieces to those who are self-conscious as a result of losing their hair – where the work of the Little Princess Trust has the potential to massively improve the quality of children’s lives.
“The Trust also provide hairpieces for children who have lost their hair due to causes other than cancer, the differing cause of hair loss makes no difference to the potential impact of this experience on their self-esteem, however.”
Karen had been toying with the idea of donating her hair for some time before taking the plunge just before Christmas.
She said: “I have thought about donating my hair on and off for a while, as it’s something that I could do to help others – bearing in mind that a large part of the reason I’m studying medicine was the potential it offered to improve the lives of others, even though that’s clichéd.
“I decided to cut my hair over this holiday as I’m now entering my clinical years of medical school, so will be on the wards full-time.
“Given that we will be expected to tie our hair up whilst involved in clinical work, looking after waist-length hair seemed pointless.
“I decided to take the plunge and give my hair to a better cause.”
Karen is also raising money for the charity, to donate visit www.justgiving.com/Karen-Pollard1
