The day I found out my dad had cancer was the worst day of my life. It rocked me to my very core. When you hear the word “cancer”, you can’t help but start thinking about all the horror stories you’ve heard. All the people who you know who’ve been affected by it. All the people who didn’t make it… I was terrified.

You don’t think about all the winners, the survivors, the conquerors.

Over the next few weeks, after countless tests and doctors appointments, we were given the incredible news that it wasn’t aggressive. That it hadn’t spread. That we could exhale. It was cancer, but if dad wanted, he didn’t even need to do anything – just come back for tests every few months to monitor it. We were so blessed. Grateful.

Despite the huge relief, I knew what this whole ordeal had done to my dad mentally, although he’d never show it. My parents grew up in Russia when it was still known as the USSR. In those days men didn’t show emotion because they didn’t show weakness. My dad just wanted to be strong for us. But I wanted to be strong for him. We all did.

The Leukaemia Foundation holds an annual event called “World’s Greatest Shave”, where people all over the country shave their heads or colour their hair in a bid to raise money. The money doesn’t just go to cancer research, but also to supporting those families who need it most. My dad didn’t have Leukaemia, but he did have cancer. And this was my way of supporting him.

I told all of my friends and all of our family to spread the word to everyone they knew. I said that if I raised $5,000 for this charity, I would not only shave my head, but do a full body wax. In front of everyone.

Lo and behold, March 13th came and everybody had come over on a sunny day for a BBQ, some drinks and hopefully to see me shaved, waxed and polished. We counted the money, and it turns out that I had raised just over $5,700. I was shocked. I couldn’t believe it. We had actually accomplished the target, even though just 6 days before the event, I was still over $3,500 behind my target.

So to the delight of the crowd, they shaved my head. Then everybody took turns tearing a strip of hair off my body. And in between screams and biting my hand, I was smiling. It was one of the proudest moments of my life.

If you’re interested in participating or donating to a truly worthy cause, please visit their site: http://www.worldsgreatestshave.com