I'm doing this to support my family. As I'm so far away and I really can't pretend to understand what and so I'll post Hannah's uncle's words as he says it far better than I could....I sincerely hope that, after reading the story of this courageous little girl, you'll rally around me and do a bit to help....
Here are Neil's words...
" I 'm shaving my head to raise money for childhood cancer research!
On Friday 19th September, at the same time as the 2nd Annual "Heroes for Hannah" shave at The Wicket, Cricket Square, Cayman Island, I'll be shaving my head to raise funds for the St Baldrick’s Foundation*.
I know that my niece Hannah's story has touched the hearts of many within our community and around the world and highlighted the desperate need for funding into childhood cancer research. In July 2012, age 4, Hannah was diagnosed with anaplastic medulloblastoma, a type of brain cancer; following 22 months of treatment including surgery, radiation and 13 rounds of chemotherapy, Hannah’s tumors have disappeared and today she has been declared “cancer free”. It’s wonderful news, isn’t it?
However, the harsh reality for our family is that Hannah has < 5% chance of surviving the next five years and in the highly probable event of relapse there are no known successful medical trials for us to follow. Treatment has come at a huge price for Hannah; the radiation has caused her brain to shrink, making control of all voluntary movements very challenging. As a result Hannah, is disorientated when standing and needs full support to perform any motor functions we all take for granted, like walking. The chemotherapy has caused hearing loss and nerve damage, which is now affecting her basic bodily functions. Whilst we continue to treat the side effects of the treatment with therapies and medications, we count each day with Hannah as a blessing.
Shockingly all childhood cancers combined receive only 4% of US federal funding for cancer research, the American Cancer Society spends