A brave mum from Barnet has confronted one of her biggest fears and shaved her head to raise awareness of cervical cancer and funds for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Esther Hodges, 48, decided she would take control of the effects of her cancer treatment, face her fears and create something positive out of her worst nightmare – losing her beloved long hair that she felt was her identity.
Her bravery paid off and unbelievably, Esther raised over £8,600 by taking part in Macmillan’s ‘Brave the Shave’ fundraiser with the support of her local Barnet community and match funding from her generous employer, communication agency, Indicia Worldwide.
Esther, a mum of two daughters aged 19 and 28, said: “When I was given chemo when my cancer returned, they said I would definitely lose my hair so I thought, let’s turn this into a positive and arranged a Brave the Shave fundraiser on 13 November with my brother.
“I was on a stage and there was such a long queue of people there to support me. I had really long hair down to my bum, losing it was my biggest fear. I felt my identity was going and I was terrified but people were so lovely that in the end I pulled the scarf off and let them see me. Now I feel kind of more comfortable without the wig. My hair’s irrelevant.
Esther Hodges said she felt terrified about losing her hair, which was her identity but she wanted to turn a negative into a positive.
“I felt like the whole community was behind me. I’ve lived here all my life and people just wanted to donate and wish me well. I also contacted local companies for the raffles and in total raised £4.5k and now my employer has said they’ll match whatever I fundraise! I couldn’t ask for a better employer.”
Esther was diagnosed with cervical cancer in February 2022. She hadn’t had any symptoms apart from back pain but then when she haemorrhaged unexpectedly and was rushed to hospital, they found a grade 2 tumour. After treatment, unfortunately 3 months later, a scan revealed a secondary tumour on her lung.
She said: “I hadn’t had a smear since 2009, I was always too busy, then lockdown hit. I also hadn’t had any symptoms before. When I was told, I went into complete shock but I got through the treatment so I really wasn’t expecting to hear it had spread so quickly.
“Now what I have is not curable but it’s treatable. I have chemo every 3 weeks and have started on a trial immunotherapy drug.
“I wanted to raise money because when I was diagnosed, it amazed me how many people get cancer. I also want to raise awareness about the importance of women making time to go for their smear test. I know what it’s like being too busy with your career and family. If I can make just one person have one more test then it will be worth it.”
Ella Forster, Macmillan Fundraising manager, said: “Esther is an incredibly generous and determined person, with not only a real skill for fundraising but doing so while she herself is going through cancer treatment and sharing her story to raise awareness. She’s a real inspiration.
“It’s only because of people like Esther that we can be there for people with cancer. As a charity that relies almost entirely on donations, we need the generous support of the public, so we can go on doing that. So, a big thank you to Esther, her community of friends and family who supported her, GI salons and her employer who matched her fundraising.”
