The bond between Brendan Arnold and his loving Aunty Renae is unbreakable. So, when Brendan got the devastating news his Aunty’s cancer returned for a third time, he decided to raise funds for research to fight this horrible disease.
Brendan opens up on his aunties diagnosis and his incredible community fundraiser where he shaved his head and raised $7,811 for Australian Breast Cancer Research (ABCR)!
“In the prime of her life, my beautiful Aunty Renae was diagnosed with cervical cancer at just 30-years-old. She fought a brave battle and overcame this horrible disease.
Unfortunately, at the age of 40, doctors discovered two 6cm lumps in each breast and she was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer. Aunty Renae underwent a single mastectomy and harsh chemotherapy treatment afterwards to kill any remaining cancer in her body.
This year, at the age of 58, another devastating blow came and Aunty Renae discovered a lump in her other breast – once again she was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer with a 7cm tumour.
It was at the start of her chemotherapy treatment that I decided I wanted to support her by shaving my head.
She is the most kind, loving and generous soul and she is also a strong, brave fighter and I knew she would not let this beat her.
By shaving my head, I felt it would be good for her to see that she’s not alone and she doesn’t have to be the only one without hair. This sparked all the males in my family to get on board too and also shave their heads.
Once I had made the decision to shave my head, my good friend and boss Stacy recommended I raise money for a good cause and then have a head shaving event in the salon.
I chose to fundraise for ABCR for the fact that the money I raised will go directly to research.
When I initially started, I just really wanted to support my Aunty and do something good to make her feel like she was not alone in this journey she was facing. As the donations came rolling in, I was truly touched by the generosity of everyone around us, the level of support and love for my Aunty and myself with my goal was truly touching.
With an initial goal of fundraising $1,000 I was blown away to see I had raised that much and more overnight! Watching the donations come flooding in was unbelievable – the more I continued, the more I realised that my fundraiser could make a difference for cancer research.
To reach the final amount of $7,811 in the short time of my fundraiser was just spectacular. My Aunty Renae was truly touched and honoured by everyone’s kindness and she will continue fighting her battle like many other women in this situation.”
If you would like to host your own fundraiser in honour of a loved one, email [email protected] or call (08) 8445 2453.
