'It's just another way of helping children fight this disease', Students going bald to fight childhood cancer

Posted Feb 16, 2012 By Jessica Cunha

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University of Ottawa student Hana Alazem had her hair chopped off for last year's Shave for a Cure event. This year, the faculty of medicine is hoping to raise $60,000.

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University of Ottawa student Hana Alazem had her hair chopped off for last year's Shave for a Cure event. This year, the faculty of medicine is hoping to raise $60,000.

EMC News - University students are going bare in an effort to raise funds to fight childhood cancers.

The University of Ottawa's faculty of medicine is hosting its ninth annual Shave for a Cure event on Friday, Feb. 24, during the Ottawa 67's game at Lansdowne Park.

Students are challenging the public to brave the cold weather and shave their heads - or lop off 10 inches of hair - for Smiling Over Sickness, a volunteer-based non-profit organization run by the medical students at the university. The organization has partnered with the St. Baldrick's Foundation to fundraise for Childhood Cancer Canada.

"It helps the sick children and that's one of the reasons I got involved," said volunteer Noor Amily, a second-year medical student at the university.

"This kind of research is really important because it opens the eyes of the community to the importance of pediatric research."

Amily won't be shaving her head or chopping off her hair but she will be helping run the event.

"There are other options you can do if you don't want to shave your head," said the 24-year-old Morgan's Grant resident.

"It's just another way of helping children fight this disease."

Amily will help to organize the games and activities during the hockey game's intermission, including face painting and ring toss, as well as a silent auction.

The students are hoping to raise $60,000 to contribute to pediatric cancer research.

"It's been great because last year we raised over $60,000 and we're aiming for the same thing this year," said Amily.

"We want Shave for a Cure to keep growing," said Bradley Sarak, a medical student and the event's co-organizer. "We want everyone to crave the shave."

Other ways to get involved in the fundraising effort include:

- Purchasing a ticket for the Ottawa 67's game for Feb. 24 through the Shave for a Cure website before Feb. 20.

- Bidding in the silent auction on site at Lansdowne on Feb. 24.

- Donating online.

Proceeds from tickets bought through the event website are donated. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m.

"It's a fun event and at the same time it's beneficial," said Amily.

For more information on the Shave for a Cure event, visit the website at www.shaveforacure.ca.

CHILDHOOD CANCER AFFECTS HUNDREDS EACH YEAR

All donations collected through the University of Ottawa's Shave for a Cure event remain in Canada and go towards funding childhood cancer research.

Childhood cancers affect hundreds of families each year. According to the Childhood Cancer Canada website:

- About 1,500 new cases of childhood cancers are diagnosed every year.

- There are around 10,000 children living with cancer in Canada today.

- About 78 per cent of these children will survive five years or more because of advances in therapy - an increase of almost 46 per cent since the 1960s.

- About one in four children who are diagnosed with cancer will die of the disease.

- In the 1950s, less than 10 per cent of childhood cancer patients could be cured.

- The most common childhood cancers are leukemias, tumours of the brain and nervous system, the lymphatic system, kidneys, bones and muscles.

- Childhood cancers have close to a 75 per cent cure rate.

For more information, visit www.childhoodcancer.ca.