A group of students at Aberdeen University have raised almost £4,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust after one of their closest friends was diagnosed with a lymphoma.
Hannah Sinclair, 19, was told she had stage two Hodgkin’s lymphoma around Christmas last year, while she was in second year at the university.
The news came as a shock to her large group of friends, who come from all around the country, and particularly to her flatmates Cameron McCreaner, Archie Snedden, Nick Fish and George Cowan.
The four men came up with a plan to help support Hannah through her illness, and recruited five more friends – all aged 19 or 20-years-old – to help out.
‘We thought we should do something’
Among them was Harry Cunningham, who set up the group’s GoFundMe page.
He said: “It was around Christmas last year, when we were all still up at uni, Hannah was noticing lumps in her neck which was giving her a bit of concern.
“She went home around Easter to get some tests done, and she began to get a bit more worried about it.
“She hasn’t been back up to uni since then, because she had to go to the hospital for appointments.”
Harry continued: “[Cameron, Archie, Nick and George] all lived in the flat, and obviously they’re so close to her now.
“We thought we should do something for Hannah, for charity, and it was Cammy who had the idea for us to shave all our heads.”
Chop for charity
On Friday, the group of nine will travel to Dundee, where Hannah is living at the moment, and allow her to shave their hair off with a set of clippers.
As well as Archie, Cameron, George, Harry and Nick, they include Calum Busby, Chris Ballam, Craig Ross and Scott Ritchie.
A GoFundMe page was set up for the team on June 10, and quickly caught on.
The initial target of £1,000 was broken not long after launch, and the group’s various friends and families around Scotland propelled them towards quadruple that figure.
Scott said: “Hannah was saying how amazing the Teenage Cancer Trust has been, that’s who we’re giving the money to.
“They’ve just been absolutely fantastic to her, and everyone knows what a good cause they are in helping young people deal with such a horrible illness.”
Harry added: “It’s been ridiculously crazy, we’ve all been blown away by it. It’s just mental how much traction it’s got, really.
“Hannah has been blown away by it as well.
“She’s staying relatively positive, between her appointments, but I think this has been a huge boost to her as well as the rest of the lads.”
You can find the group’s GoFundMe site for the Teenage Cancer Trust by clicking here.
