When his former coworker’s daughter, Madisyn, passed away from neuroblastoma a few months before her fourth birthday, Nathan Pyne knew he had to do something to help.
That was the first time he shaved for St. Baldrick’s.
Nathan Pyne shaved for St. Baldrick’s in 2011 (left) and in 2014.
“It really brought my awareness to childhood cancer. Cancer sucks all the way around, but when you’re dealing with children like that — the innocence — they don’t understand what’s going on. They’re just trying to be kids and stuff,” he said. “It just really hit close to home.”
This year, and for the third time, Nathan went bald and beardless in honor of Kendra, his boss’s 16-year-old daughter who just finished treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
As part of the team Kendra’s Kure, he grew out his goatee just for the occasion and raised almost $5,000.
“It’s not about pride or ego. I try to set the bar high so other people try and beat me,” he said, laughing.
Nathan Pyne and part of the team Kendra’s Cure before their shave this year. Kendra, who just finished treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is in the white baseball cap.
Nathan Pyne and part of the team Kendra’s Cure, including Kendra, after their shave.
Though he hasn’t been personally affected by childhood cancer and he doesn’t have children of his own, cancer keeps cropping up in his life, so Nathan keeps shaving to raise money for research.
See the impact of your dollars on childhood cancer research >
Nathan knows just how important medical research is — his wife is healthy today thanks to it.
“Advances in research enabled my wife to determine that she is a carrier of the BRCA2 gene, which means without preventative action, the likelihood of her developing some type of cancer was 87%,” he said. “By taking those preventative measures, the risk is reduced to 3%. Wouldn’t it be great if all children could receive genetic testing to give them the same chances if they are at risk?”
That goal is definitely something Nathan will keep shaving for.
Nathan already braved the shave, but he hasn’t stopped fundraising for childhood cancer research! Donate on his beautiful bald head.
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