Burnley woman donates money and hair to Macmillan Cancer Support and Little Princess Trust

Claire Howard (48) is currently undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, after also undergoing two recent operations.

In her words, Claire wanted to turn her difficult situation into a positive and invited her friends and family round for her head shave which raised more than £1,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support and saw the hair donated to The Little Princess Trust for children suffering chemo induced hair loss.

Claire, who works as head of finance for Open Development and Education, said: “I found a lump in my breast last August which was diagnosed very quickly as cancer.

“In September I had an operation at Burnley General Hospital to have the lump removed but they found that the cancer had spread to my lymph nodes. I then had a second operation at Burnley to remove the lymph nodes, and am now halfway through my chemotherapy treatment.

“The reason I decided to do the head shave was because I wanted to raise awareness, raise money and take away the stigma and fear of a cancer diagnosis. My hair was 24 inches long and very thick, so it will have hopefully provided a good few wigs.

“I am very young of body, heart and mind, and was a full picture of vibrant health and living life to the full, before my diagnosis.

“I would really like to pay tribute to the NHS and to the Primrose Department at Burnley General in particular. It is such a positive place. I have also received a lot of help from my Macmillan nurse Helen.