Raising Awareness and funds

Suzanne shares her experiences...

This week I've been doing presentations at my children's school assemblies. I was a little nervous for the first one; addressing over 300 children is a bit scary. They were wonderfully receptive though, having a few PowerPoint slides to look at definitely helped to keep their interest. Doing these presentations really clarified my own thinking.

Just as we who answered Jacky's call are "everyday women", the children who fighting cancer are everyday children who just happen to be receiving medical treatment that causes their hair to fall out. I emphasised this to the children I spoke to, encouraging them not to be afraid or avoid children with cancer. We don't have to think of these children as "victims" but can have an image of them as brave warriors fighting a good fight. The image of Shaolin monks came to my mind.

I told the children that some children who have lost their hair may wear caps, wigs or bandanas. But some may choose to leave their hair uncovered because there is nothing to be ashamed of in having treatment for cancer. Many of the children, and some adults, ask me if I will wear a wig. I answered one adult by saying "wearing a wig sort of defeats the purpose" and he replied that surely the purpose was to raise money for CCF, not for me to be bald. But for me, the purpose is also to raise awareness, in myself and others, a journey into empathy and a chance to think about the meaning of appearance, femininity and one's "presence" in the world.