KRIS HOATH

ASSISTANT PAYROLL BUSINESS PARTNER KRIS HOATH DECIDED THEY WOULD TAKE ON THE BRAVE THE SHAVE IN HONOUR OF A CLOSE FAMILY MEMBER AND RAISED £910.

KRIS, WHY IS THIS CAUSE SO IMPORTANT TO YOU?

Supporting Macmillan’s Brave the Shave is close to my heart because I, unfortunately, lost my auntie in October 2020. She had been diagnosed with lung cancer and lost her battle after 10 years. So I wanted to honour her two-year anniversary by shaving my hair for charity.

WHAT DID YOUR FAMILY THINK WHEN YOU TOLD THEM WHAT YOU WERE PLANNING?

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My family were all incredibly proud of my determination to do this in memory of my auntie and fully supported my decision.

YOU BRAVELY DID YOUR SHAVE IN PUBLIC AT TESCO. WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?

It was totally surreal, but I was surrounded by all of my old work colleagues and felt so supported throughout. It was daunting doing the shave in the middle of a supermarket, but it was such an empowering feeling knowing why I was doing it and the great cause I was raising. I was terrified on the day of the shave, and keeping the nerves at bay was hard.

HOW DID YOU FEEL AFTERWARDS?

I felt amazing afterwards. Doing Brave the Shave helped me in ways I wasn’t expecting, and I had a gender euphoric moment. It really helped my wellbeing and was a positive ‘money can’t buy’ outcome.

NOW THAT YOU’VE COMPLETED YOURS, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE THINKING OF DOING BRAVE THE SHAVE? Just do it! It’s daunting, but knowing that you’re supporting a great cause and helping raise money for Macmillan nurses and their incredible work is a great feeling.

Just £126 could pay for a Macmillan support worker for 1 day, helping people living with cancer receive the support they need.

Sir Douglas Macmillan founded the charity in 1911 after his father died from cancer.

An incredible 98% of Macmillan’s work is funded by donations raised by supporters.

Around 811,000 people receive person -to-person support from one or more Macmillan services.

Around 3 million people in the UK live with cancer, and over 360,000 more are diagnosed each year.