My mama used to tell us never to Hate something, because Hate was so powerful. We could "strongly dislike" but save "hate" for meaningful things. Well, I Hate Cancer, in all of its forms. Since 2009 I've shaved my head regularly to raise money for cancer-fighting charities. Since 2015, I've raised over $20,000 for St. Baldrick's specifically. In 2017, I began to honor Hedda Sivertsson. Hedda passed away in 2018 at the age 15 of Medulloblastoma. For me, it's simply about this: Hedda was remarkable, and she changed the lives of everyone around her. The world needed more of her light. In addition to Hedda, I shave in honor and memory of: Jordyn, the daughter of one of my youth group kids, who died of Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) at age 8 Teddy, who I taught how to swim, who died of melanoma when he was 15.  Joshua, a beloved child of my church. Nicole, daughter of a friend. Johnny, the student of a friend.

 Imagine a world where a diagnosis of brain cancer is met with a simple treatment - a pill or a shot that cures it in a matter of days. The money we raise through these events goes directly to research to find cures for childhood cancers. This is *so* important because childhood cancers are different than adult cancers, yet we're fighting them with what comes down to best guesses. Children who are treated for childhood cancer face a lifetime of side effects and complications from their treatment. We can do better. I'll brave the shave (and a cold head for a few weeks) and you donate some money, and together we'll get closer to the cures we need.