TO show solidarity to the many men and women who lose their hair due to cancer treatment, a charity founder and her partner had their heads shaved.

Nicky Heath, founder of Yeleni Therapy and Support, and her partner Peter Ormsby had their hair dyed in bright colours before shaving it all off.

Yeleni in Blackfriars Street, Hereford is a independent cancer charity that offers free therapies and ongoing support to people with any form of cancer.

Nicky and Peter also raised money via their Bald is Beautiful campaign.

Nicky said: “ I heard from an oncologist that upon being given a cancer diagnosis the majority of men ask: 'How long have I got?' However, the majority of women ask: 'Will I lose my hair?'

"This made me realise just how much women see their hair as a major part of their identity and so losing their hair through chemotherapy adds significantly to the trauma of a cancer diagnosis.

"I found a quote for the campaign which gave me inspiration to do this: 'I am not my hair, I am not my skin, I am the soul that lives within.'

"Many of the women with cancer that I have worked with over the years have always hated wearing a wig, finding them uncomfortable, hot and itchy to wear, so I decided that when I went bald I wasn’t going to wear a wig at all. Instead I had a henna tattoo done on my bald head which looked amazing and lasted long enough for my hair to start growing back."

They also shaved their heads in memory of Nicky’s brother Mark Freeman and Peter’s sister Ann Martin who both passed away from cancer.

Make a donation via https://localgiving.org/charity/yelenitherapyandsupport to support their Bald is Beautiful Campaign.

To find out more about Yeleni go to yelenisupport.co.uk for more information.