Sutton cancer battler shaves her cherished locks for charity

A brave Sutton woman who is battling cancer for the second time has shaved her head to raise money for charity.
Laura after her head shaveLaura after her head shave
Laura after her head shave

Laura Barratt was diagnosed lymphoma, cancer of the lymphatic system, with just a few weeks ago after waking up in agony from a cramping pain her thigh.

Despite doctors originally thinking the pain was muscular, she was told it was cancer after scans showed a 14cm mass in her pelvic area.

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The 27-year-old has also battled kidney cancer as a child and has had three kidney transplants.

Laura before she shaved her hairLaura before she shaved her hair
Laura before she shaved her hair

She said: "It was a shock because this is the second time I’ve cancer. I've now been told I’ll have to have nearly five months of chemotherapy and possibly radiotherapy afterwards.”

Laura, who was due to get married in September, has pushed back her wedding to her fiance Andy until June 2018 while she has treatment.

Chemotherapy then started to cause her hair to fall out, so Laura decided to take matters into her own hands - and raise money for Cancer Research UK at the same time.

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She decided to have her hair shaved off during a live Facebook video and has raised more than £1,200 so far.

Laura before she shaved her hairLaura before she shaved her hair
Laura before she shaved her hair

"I'm devastated because I won't be well enough for the wedding and we've had to move it,” she said.

“Everything was going so well too but I've decided I was going to loose my hair so anyway so I might as well shave it off.

“It was a very scary experience but I’m glad I did it.”

She said losing her hair has been difficult as she often receives compliments on her locks.

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"I've got a bob and people are alway commenting on it, saying oh wow, and asking me where I get my hair cut and things like that. I was proud of it."

“I was conscious that people would look at me differently when my hair started to fall out so when I was washing it and it started coming out in clumps I did just break down."

But she has remained positive and hopes that some good can come out of her experience.

She said: "It's given me something to focus on, hopefully something good can come out of something negative. I've been quite lucky in that this cancer responds well to treatment but hopefully they can one day find a cure for all cancers so I'm asking people to donate what they can."

You can donate to Laura's justgiving page here