Kathy's Bald Move

Meet Chris. It’s been almost 8 years since Chris lost his Dad Gerry to spinal cancer and today he bravely talks about his Dad’s journey and the impact it’s had on his family.

Gerry was not only devoted to his family, but was an inspector with the Victoria Police and a valued member of the community. He was awarded Victoria’s first National Police Service Medal in March 2012 after serving the Victoria Police for over 30 years. Chris says that when he reads all the articles in the paper about his Dad, it’s nice to be reminded of just how well-respected Gerry was within the community. You can find links to the articles on Gerry below.

Chris also raises money for Movember every year for his Dad and for other men who are going through tough times and similarly to his Dad Gerry, Chris can grow a pretty darn good mo! Over the 6 years that Chris has been participating in Movember, he has raised almost $10,000 and last year he upped the awareness for his campaign by running 150km during the month of November.

If you would like to read Gerry’s letter to the public about his journey with cancer, click here.

Article stating Gerry is awarded a national police service medal.

Tributes to Gerry after he passed away on the 4th April, 2012.

Link to online help roster website, Gather my Crew.

Click here if you would like to look at the resources on the Cancer Council website.

If you would like to donate to our World’s Greatest Shave campaign, you can donate until June 30, 2021 by clicking this link.

If you would like to learn more about our team Kathy’s Bald Move, you can follow @kathysbaldmove on Instagram or Facebook.

Meet Carla. Carla was working three full time jobs and was also caring full time for her Mum who had Lewy bodies dementia. With all this going on, it wasn’t hard to see why she was in a constant state of exhaustion, however it wasn’t until she started having blackouts – including one when she was driving to work – that she knew something was seriously wrong.

After initially being brushed off as being anxious and depressed, it took some time before GP’s took her symptoms seriously and she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer. She was given a 20% chance of making it to 5 years. In June it will be 5 years since she was given that prognosis and started her chemotherapy and I am happy to report Carla is still going strong.

As someone who was always doing things for other people she talks about how getting her diagnosis forced her to put herself first and gave her the permission she need to do things that made herhappy. She says bizarrely, it took a diagnosis for her to live a life free of guilt and make the most of the time she has left.

If you would like to learn more information about how to do a breast cancer self-exam, click here and if you would like to know more about mammograms, click here.

Click here if you would like to look at the resources on the Cancer Council website.

If you would like to donate to our World’s Greatest Shave campaign, you can donate until June 30, 2021 by clicking this link.

If you would like to learn more about our team Kathy’s Bald Move, you can follow @kathysbaldmove on Instagram or Facebook.

Meet my father-in-law Vince. Vince was having symptoms of sweating, feelings of fatigue and lumps in his armpits for 6 – 8 months but was continually told there was nothing wrong; he just had infected sweat glands. Knowing something was not quite right, his wife Joanne persisted in taking him to the doctors until they worked out what was going on. It wasn’t until a locum doctor at their clinic prescribed an Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate test, this led them closer to an answer and on the night before his 40th Birthday, Vince was given the diagnosis of Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Vince discusses how grateful he is that Joanne never gave up the search for answers leading up to his diagnosis. Throughout his treatment she never let him go through anything alone whilst also trying to keep life as normal as possible for Vince and their children who were 8, 10 and 12 at the time. He shares how cancer made him see that life’s too short for negative people who bring you no joy and the importance of making time for family.

His wife Joanne also joined me for a one-on-one chat and shared her experience throughout Vince’s Hodgkin’s journey. She discusses how they communicated with their kids during the cancer and the importance of having friends who were genuinely there for them not just through their words, but through their actions.

Click here if you would like to look at the resources on the Cancer Council website.

If you would like to donate to our World’s Greatest Shave campaign, you can donate until June 30, 2021 by clicking this link.

If you would like to learn more about our team Kathy’s Bald Move, you can follow @kathysbaldmove on Instagram or Facebook.

Meet my Mum Leith. She was just 22 years old when she found a lump in her neck. She fast learnt the lump was in fact Hodgkin’s disease, a cancer of the lymph nodes and also a form of blood cancer.

Leith shares her treatment journey going through Hodgkin’s and the difficulties she had falling pregnant. Later in life, Leith also had a brief encounter with breast cancer. It was due to having her regular mammograms that the doctors were able to catch and treat the malignant lump in her breast early before it could spread. She discusses the importance of getting to know your body, so that you can take note of anything out of the ordinary before it becomes something ominous. So without further ado, we have included some links on how to do a breast cancer self-exam and some information about mammograms.

If you would like to learn more information about how to do a breast cancer self-exam, click here and if you would like to know more about mammograms, click here.

Click here if you would like to look at the resources on the Cancer Council website.

If you would like to donate to our World’s Greatest Shave campaign, you can donate until June 30, 2021 by clicking this link.

If you would like to learn more about our team Kathy’s Bald Move, you can follow @kathysbaldmove on Instagram or Facebook.

On the 21st of March this year, I will be getting out the clippers and shaving my hair off for brain cancer. ⁣

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Why? Because it’s true what they say, cancer does not discriminate. Whether you have been through it personally, or know someone who has been affected by it, in some way or another, we have all been impacted by cancer.⁣

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I will be speaking with those who are willing to share their cancer journey. I hope that by sharing our stories, we will not only see that we are not alone in that we all have an experience of cancer, but we can also raise awareness and raise money for a really great cause.⁣

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𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝗪𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝’𝐬 𝐆𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟑𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏 𝐛𝐲 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐤.⁣

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𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐊𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲’𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐥𝐝 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 @𝐤𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐝𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤.