MACKSVILLE police officers are putting a call out to anyone willing to go under the razor for charity, and to those keen to dig into their pockets and donate.
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The brave officers are shaving their heads and beards to raise money for their colleague, a detective in Kempsey, whose daughter was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer – and has been given just weeks, possibly days, to live.
The 14-year-old was diagnosed with Sinonasal undifferentiated carcinoma (abbreviated SNUC) in early August and she has been hospitalised since at the Randwick Children’s Hospital.
SNUC is a rare aggressive type of cancer that arises from the nose or sinuses. She has already undergone a number of major and minor surgeries which have resulted in, but not limited to; the removal of a tumour from her sinus area resulting in the permanent loss of an eye, and the removal of a small portion of her brain. She is now required to undergo courses of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy in attempts to destroy any further traces of the cancer in her body.
The prognosis for this form of cancer is not particularly good. Statistics indicate the survival rate is less than 20 per cent and the median survival time after diagnosis is just over six months.
This is a rare case, and the 14-year-old is possibly the youngest recorded case as most who are diagnosed are 60-year-old males.
Macksville police want to hear from anyone who’s interested in participating in the shave or donating, to contact Sgt Belinda Dalzell on 6568-1044 before Wednesday.
The shave will take place outside the Macksville Police Station on Thursday from about 1pm.