‘They knew how upset I was about losing my hair and didn’t want me to go through it alone’

The men show off their head shaves with Jackie Keane on Friday evening pic Phil Dennett

Her newly-shaven band of family and friends are helping Jackie face the loss of hair during cancer treatmentby getting their own luxuriant mops lopped off.

Haywards Heath hairdresser Jimmy Philippou, of Jimmy’s, and next door Salon 46 obliged with the clippers straight after closing time at South Road, Haywards Heath.Some shavings had been the subject of auction bids by people keen to see pals with a new look in aid of Cancer Reasearch.There was quite a crowd in the salon, with some nervously awaiting their turn in the chair and others cheering on their pals with jokes.One girlfriend in the crowd was heard by the Middy reporter to remark : “Well, he looks pretty good like that. Much better than I thought.”

The session was organised with the help of Jimmy, but had to be held in Salon 46 because so many people came forward.

Jackie, in her 40s, from Haywards Heath, who works as a technical instructor in the physiotherapy department at the Princess Royal Hospital at Haywards Heath, said : “I am very proud of all these boys for doing this and I would not be doing so well without the support of my partner, (Darryll Lonsdale) family and friends. It has not spread with me so I will be having surgery, but at least I’ll be OK. If this fund raising helps stop one other woman going through this then it’s worth it.The idea of the head shaving was my son Liam’s and Martin Munro, my niece’s fiancee, as they knew how upset I was over losing my hair and they didn’t want me to go through that alone. My older son David also shaved his head and my nieces’s brother Lloyd Miles so it was a big family thing too.”

David Keane has set up a Just Giving page at www.justgiving.comDavidKeane for cancer research which has about £90 on it so far.

Jackie said: “He still has sponsorship money to collect so we are hoping to hit at least the £1000 mark if not more.There are collection buckets in Manny’s Barbers in Burgess Hill and at the physiotherapy department at the Princess Royal Hospital.”

So far about £500 has been raised.