Teen girl braves the shave and vows to find cure for mum’s blood cancer

Emily Whitmore, 13, from Nesscliffe, will shave her head on July 15 in support of Myeloma UK, a charity dedicated to funding research into treatment and, eventually, a cure for myeloma.

The Corbet School pupil was just eight years old when her mum, Eve, was diagnosed with the disease in 2017.

Emily said: “Right now there is no cure for this cancer. My mum had some horrible treatment but she is OK at the moment and we hope it stays that way. I want to help to raise money so that a permanent cure can be found, so that families don't spend years worrying about when the cancer will come back and if it will go away this time or not.”

Eve, a music and movement therapist, had been feeling exhausted for some time, but had put it down to the demands of raising a young family. When a friend convinced her to visit a doctor, tests revealed her kidneys were failing. She was admitted to hospital on Emily’s eighth birthday. Her son, Oliver, was just four at the time.

Three weeks later, at just 39, she was finally diagnosed with myeloma. Eve said: “We met with the doctor and I said, ‘What’s the prognosis?’. He said the average life expectancy was five years. I said ‘You’re going to have to find a way to give me 20 years because I have two young children.”

Myeloma is an incurable blood cancer which tends to affect people over the age of 65 and currently affects over 24,000 people in the UK. It is especially difficult to detect as symptoms, including back pain, easily broken bones, fatigue and recurring infection, are often linked to general ageing or minor conditions.

While it is incurable, myeloma is treatable in the majority of cases. Treatment is aimed at controlling the disease, and extending and improving patients’ quality of life.

Eve, now 45, has since undergone chemotherapy and received a stem cell transplant. While currently in remission, without a cure her cancer will inevitably return.

Living with the knowledge that her mother’s cancer could come back at any moment has been especially hard on 13-year-old Emily, particularly as she’s grown older.

She said: “Now I understand things better and I find it much harder. I’m always waiting for something to come back.”

Fundraising and raising awareness of the symptoms of myeloma has proved a welcome outlet for Emily and given her “a goal to focus on”. She was just nine when she raised £251 at her first coffee morning at her primary school.

Eve said: “I remember her coming to me afterwards and saying 'Is it enough for them to find a cure now?’. It broke my heart.”

The shave has been a long time coming. Emily had been begging her mum to let her shear her long locks for charity for years, and finally wore her down a few weeks ago.

Eve explained: “She showed that she was committed and she’s doing it for such an amazingly worthy cause. I’m really proud of her.”

Emily has already exceeded her £1,500 target and has collected a huge £2,174 since launching her JustGiving page. After the shave, the teenager plans to donate her hair to the Little Princess Trust.

“I just wanted to do something positive to help,” said Emily. “A cure would be everything. It would mean a lot.”

Her mum added: “There’s been a lot of advancements in myeloma in the last 10 years and I think there’s going to be a cure in our lifetime. I genuinely believe that we’re not that far away.”

The shave will take place on July 15. To make a donation go to justgiving.com/fundraising/EmilyShave.