Sarah-Jane Sloane’s cancer journey began more than four years ago when her dad was diagnosed with bowel cancer.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It’s been a difficult period for the 18-year-old, whose dad died around two years ago. But she is now using her experience to help others.
Ms Sloane, who is the Victorian vice chairperson for cancer support organisation CanTeen, will be shaving her hair at a trivia night on Saturday to raise funds and awareness for the Leukaemia Foundation.
The friends she has met through her work with CanTeen inspired her to make the brave decision to shave her hair and raise funds – many suffer themselves or have died from leukaemia.
Ms Sloane is both excited, and nervous, to loose her hair.
“I love my hair, so it is a big step to say I am going to get rid of all of it,” she said.
She has already raised $2000 for the cause, and will donate all money raised from the community trivia night a St Patrick’s College on Saturday. More than 60 people have booked to take part in the night, and tickets are still available.
Ms Sloane moved to Ballarat from Townsville in 2017 to study veterinary and wildlife science at Federation University. She is grateful for the support she has received from the community, while developing her passion for helping others.
She has spent 18 months in a leadership position with CanTeen, the organisation that helped her throughout her dad’s cancer journey.
“Being involved in Canteen I met so many friends and the experiences I had with them really changed how I looked at everything,” she said.
Now that I have finished with my cancer journey I now want to give back to the younger members and others who are starting off their journey.
- Sarah-Jane Sloane
“My parents had separated so it was a bit difficult. It was like my dads side of the family was just focussed on him and it was hard to say ‘I’m still here and so is my brother’.
“We got through it and CanTeen helped with that. They reminded me instead of pushing to help your dad and his family, push to help yourself and get some help with them. If you are having a breakdown because everything is piling on, those tips and advice they give you really helps.”
Tickets for the Be Brave and Shave Trivia Night at 6.30pm on Saturday at St Patrick’s College are available at https://www.trybooking.com/352288.