Student shaves head to fund cancer research
Published: March 30, 2006
“You don’t think you hide behind your hair,” said junior drama major Katie Swaim. “But you really do.”
On March 18, Swaim lost a level of comfort when she shaved her head completely, losing 12 to 13 inches of her light-brown hair. Swaim shaved her head as part of a fundraiser for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation, an organization that raises money to fund research to find a cure for childhood cancers.
“There’s so many kids out there that are diagnosed with cancer every day, and they don’t get the funding for their research like adults do because there aren’t as many of them,” Swaim said. Swaim is the third member of her family to go under the razor since her sister, Sarah, was diagnosed with leukemia in 2003. In 2004, her father raised $4,000. In 2005, her mother raised $10,000. This year, Swaim wanted to raise money, too. So far, her official total is $5,416 — passing her original goal of $5,000. Swaim said people from her home in Norfolk, Va., and from the college donated to her cause. Junior drama major Teeny Lamothe said she and other friends were surprised when they first heard of Swaim’s plan, but fully support her nonetheless.
“We’re all a little bit shocked just because it’s such a hard decision,” said Lamothe. “I know that she’s going to have days where she hates not having hair.”
In addition to raising money for the foundation, Swaim donated her hair to the Wigs for Kids program, which is similar to Locks of Love but works solely with children.
“We’ll never know exactly what [the kids] go through, but losing a little piece of our own vanity for the sake of understanding what these kids go through, it’s so incredible,” Swaim said.
The St. Baldrick’s Foundation was started in 1999 by three friends who, impacted by the diagnosis of a friend’s child, wanted to raise money and awareness for childhood cancer. The original fundraiser was a success and has since become a year-round effort all across the world. There are affiliate programs in Argentina, Bermuda, Canada and China, among other locations.
Mike Shub, a sophomore biology major at Cornell University, is planning a St. Baldrick’s fundraiser at Cornell for April 8. Shub said he participated in St. Baldrick’s fundraisers while still in high school and enjoyed the experience. Now that he’s at Cornell, he decided to set up a St. Baldrick’s event in Ithaca, he said.
“Pretty much every fundraiser is a dinner or walking, and this is something unique and fun and interesting,” Shub said. “It raises a lot more money because people are more willing to donate to somebody who’s actually willing to do something rather than just walk around for awhile.”
So far, 13 people have signed on to shave their heads for April’s event, including Shub, whose hair is 6 inches long. Swaim said she hoped to hold a St. Baldrick’s shaving at Ithaca College this year but postponed plans until next year because she felt as though there wasn’t enough awareness.
This time around, she went home to be with her family and participate in the Norfolk, Va., event. Swaim said it is a personal experience. However, she said she also shared the event with strangers.
“Everyone’s hugging each other, and you’ve never even met this person but you just got shaved with them,” said Swaim of her St. Baldrick’s experience. “You’re hugging them, and you’re laughing, and you’re crying, and there’s hair everywhere, and you’re coughing cause you got hair in your mouth.”
Having her head shaved, though a little nerve racking, was liberating, Swaim said. She admits her eyes did well up a bit when her braid was handed to her, and the real impact didn’t hit her until she and her family left the warm atmosphere of the fundraiser. Her misgivings subsided, however, when people at the movie theater her family went to later that day told her she looked like Natalie Portman in “V for Vendetta.”
“I’m so glad that people are open to it and respect the decision and respect the act,” Swaim said.
Lamothe, who has known Swaim for three years, said even though Swaim’s hair was gorgeous and long, she has no doubts Swaim will be just as beautiful with a shaved head.
“Nobody can shave their head and look good but somehow she manages it,” Lamothe said.
Swaim said there is one problem, though. She only owns six hats to keep her head warm here in Ithaca — none of which match any of her clothes.
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