Shaving heads and raising money to fight childhood cancer

Sylists Jada Strickland and Sage Savage helped some folks achieve the shaved look Saturday.

They also helped raise money for childhood cancer research.

The Horry Georgetown Technical College cosmetology instructors sheared heads at Brave the Shave, a Murrells Inlet fundraiser that allowed people to donate their hair for wigs and contribute money to St. Baldrick’s Foundation, a group that funds cancer research.

“This is personal for us,” Strickland said.

“We’ve got students who are directly affected,” Savage added.

One of those students, Taylor Lennon, said her 5-year-old brother, Ayven, was recently diagnosed with lymphoma and leukemia. Her 18-year-old cousin, Tyler Potter, also battled childhood cancer, undergoing a bone marrow transplant at age 10. She was glad to volunteer.

“I feel really good about it,” she said. “This is a good cause and I’m really happy that everyone is doing this and that all the money is being donated.”

Several children who have battled cancer were honored at the event, which was held at the local Moose Lodge.

Austin Smith, 10, a daughter of Brent Smith and Betsy Owens, had her face painted with the letter n, g, and u for “never give up.”

Since 2010, she has struggled with health problems. A blood clot on her brain was surgically removed. A year later, doctors diagnosed her with brain cancer and discovered other tumors.

“The chemo, that really took her down way too far,” said her grandmother Marsha Smith. “They need to do more research for these little ones to come up with what will work best on children.”

Jennifer Johnson, who was there with her daughter, Lily, said that’s why the St. Baldrick’s Foundation is an ideal organization to support.

“The National Cancer Institute only gives 4 percent to pediatric cancer research,” she said. “We don’t feel that 4 percent is enough. St. Baldrick’s is leading the way for giving money for pediatric cancer research. They’re the ones that are actually fighting to find the cures for our kids.”

In the past 20 years, there have been few new drugs developed to treat cancer in children, Johnson said.

“They treat these children with adult drugs and it’s very hard on their systems,” she said. “The only thing that keeps it from killing them is that they’re young and more resilient.”

Johnson was emotional as she spoke to the crowd.

“Every day, 46 children will be diagnosed with cancer and seven of them will die,” she said.

Johnson founded the Lilypalooza festival to raise money to help local children with cancer, and the fourth annual event on Sept. 20 raised more than $12,000 and benefited 11 children.

“On December 8, 2011, our lives changed forever,” she said, referring to the day Lily Johnson was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. “It’s a heartbreaking experience and it’s a horrible thing for these children to go through.”

This story was originally published September 26, 2015 at 8:54 PM with the headline "Shaving heads and raising money to fight childhood cancer."