Herald designer ready for 9th shave
The first time Teresa Seegers went bald for CANSA, boy had she bawled.
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The first time Teresa Seegers went bald for CANSA, boy had she bawled.
The Vryheid Herald ad designer first made the decision to shave her head at the Vryheid Herald Shavathon in 2007 in memory of her sister, Leoni, who passed away from lymphoma a day shy of her 22nd birthday.
“Leonie passed away just six months after being diagnosed. I remember the day she told us that she had cancer. Leonie loved her thick hair, and that night nearly all her hair had come off,” said Teresa.
“The first time I shaved my hair, I was petrified. Myself and Herald reporter, Chantal van Biljon did it together. I had no idea what I was going to look like without hair, or what shape head I would have. When the clippers went into my hair, I burst out crying. I cried because all of my memories of Leonie had surfaced in that moment… And partly because it was too late to turn back.”
Teresa dedicated her next shave to a colleague, when ad designer of the Newcastle Advertiser, Amanda Vogel, was diagnosed with stomach cancer.
2014’s shave was dedicated to Teresa’s niece, Mandy, who had been diagnosed with borderline ovarian cancer.
All the shaves in-between have been a gesture of solidarity to Vryheid residents who have had the misfortune of an encounter with cancer.
Saturday, will mark Teresa’s 9th shave for CANSA, and she has made a lifetime commitment to continue to shave every year.
“If you shave your hair, it grows back. When you have cancer, you don’t have that choice as to whether or not your hair will fall out… But you do have a choice to take it off to show those affected by cancer that they are not alone, and that you care. I will do it every year,” concluded Teresa.
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