James Kon
Fourteen individuals had their heads shaved, and four others a hair trim, yesterday as part of the PinkPop Festival’s Hair For Hope campaign held at the Ozone in Kiulap to raise awareness on breast cancer.
All proceeds from the campaign will go to the Breast Cancer Support Group and the hair turned into wigs for the survivors.
Among the donors was 41-year-old Go Lai Fong who had her head shaven for the good cause.
“I had wanted to shave my head for this campaign for five years but I always bailed out,” she said. “But I finally did it today.”
She added, “My mother-in-law passed away from leukaemia. So it’s important for me to raise public awareness on cancer and the importance of early detection to increase the chances of survival, especially with the advanced medical treatments we have today.”
On the possibility of being judged for being bald, she responded, “I’m not bothered by what people think of me. Do my looks really represent who I am? My opinion is – no. Cancer patients lose their hair due to chemotherapy, but we seldom think about how they feel. So today, I want to try and understand them.”
As a reward for her sacrifice, Go raised BND1,200 at the event from her friends and family.
In the afternoon, there were Brazilian Football Academy games and talks on the benefits of exercising, breast cancer prevention and injury prevention tips. Meanwhile, on Saturday, female bikers joined a Ladies of Harley event to raise awareness on breast cancer.
There was also a talk on female empowerment featuring breast cancer survivor Katrin, yoga instructor Daphne, Lili Yong of Lilli Lingerie and surgeon Dr Amalinda Suyoi.