When I was 15 months old, my parents found a strange red mark on my head. It was no concern, but then it started getting bigger. They took me to a dermatologist who said “I dont think it’s anything, but let’s do a biopsy to be sure”. The results showed something strange; DFSP, a skin cancer common in adults, but near unheard of in children. Next my parents went to the Duke Pediatric dermatologist who said it was not DFSP, and just wanted to do a wide incision surgery to remove it. My mom, a practicing opthamologist, had been reading of a newer more effective surgery called Mohs and insisted on doing that procedure. The Duke surgeon just yelled at her to “trust your doctor”.

Shocked and unsatisfied, my mom called Dr. Barry Leshin. Three months later, Dr. Leshin performed the Mohs surgery, a method where they systemically slice away samples and test the margins until all return negative. The surgery was successful.

I remember none of this. I never had to go through chemo. I never lost all my hair. I never had to face that. What I did have to face is having a massive bald scar on top of my head that I felt little to no connection to. To this day, I have always kept my hair long enough to cover my scar; it’s always felt more in the way than a mark of pride.

With that in mind, I’ve decided to shave my head on March 20 and get past that fear. Ever the opportunist, I wanted to make the most of it. In high school, many of my classmates would shave their heads annually for St Baldrick’s. This year, I'm finally joining the club. St Baldrick’s gives grants to research and fight childhood cancer. If you would like to support this, please donate to my page here.