A Northern Ireland mum-of-three, whose son would hide behind the sofa when people came to their family home after losing his hair, is now helping hundreds of other children fighting cancer feel more confident.
Ellen Vance’s middle son Todd was diagnosed with a brain tumour on Christmas Eve at just seven years old.
Ellen, 51 and from Dundonald, says that although the cancer diagnosis came as a shock, Todd had had some previously unexplained symptoms including going into ‘vacant spells’ at school, frequent ear infections and dilated pupils.
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Reflecting on the devastating diagnosis, Ellen said: “It was a big shock. That Christmas was horrendous. I had visions of benches and trees in his memory, I had every scenario in my head.”
Todd began chemotherapy that January and was initially one of the lucky few who did not lose his hair but a year later he suffered an anaphylactic shock and was forced to change his chemotherapy regime. The seven-year-old suddenly lost his hair in a matter of days.
Remembering that time, Ellen says: “When Todd lost his hair, it was absolutely devastating for him. It was so quick, and I think that it was hard for the whole family to deal with. One day he had a full head of hair, over the next few days it was all gone. We were not prepared for it at all.
“He completely lost his confidence. If anybody knocked on the door he would hide behind the sofa because he didn’t want people to see him. My own mum and dad never ever saw him with his bald head. It devastated him that much that he didn’t want anybody commenting on it.”
Everything changed when Ellen bought him a bandana from a sports shop one day: “I brought it home and he put it on, and it was perfect. It wasn’t itchy on his head and there were no seams digging in.
“He was like a different child. His confidence grew and he saw hair loss in a completely different way. It became more about him and how cool he looked. Everyone was talking about the different bandanas he wore rather than how sick he was.”
Ellen made it her mission to help other children facing hair loss and set up Bandanas for the Brave with her husband Simon. The charity provides free bandanas to children who have lost their hair following cancer treatment with the aim of boosting their confidence.
She says: "What we are trying to do is simply prepare families by having a bandana at the ready. So much happens during this time that it can easily slip parents’ minds, or they might not have the time to go out and buy something for their child as their first thought is to be beside their child and support them. That's why it means so much for us to help other families.”
The bandanas are made from a microfibre material that can keep children warm on a cold day or cold on a hot day. The bandanas also draw moisture away from the head and some have UV protection to protect from the sun’s rays. The bandanas come in a range of designs and colours with themes including Star Wars, Pokémon and monsters.
Bandanas for the Brave have now supported children at more than 25 hospitals, including The Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street Hospital, The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, Leeds General Infirmary, Oxford Children’s Hospital and Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital. The charity has also supported children as far away as Australia and America.
Todd, now 22, still has a tumour but is cancer free and gets a scan every two years to monitor it. He is now a trustee for Bandanas for the Brave and is helping the charity to continue to grow and support families.
Ellen added: “One mummy who lost her little girl said to me, ‘You don’t know how important that bandana is to me. I keep it in my handbag and when I’m feeling down, I take it out and it reminds me of her’. That is more than we ever expected.”
Bandanas for the Brave is now a registered charity and aims to raise enough money to help as many children battling cancer as possible. In a bid to raise vital funds Bandanas for the Brave has become a registered cause on the easyfundraising website.
Those who want to raise funds for the charity simply need to sign up to easyfundraising with Bandanas for the Brave as their chosen cause, and then do their online shopping via the platform with more than 8,000 retailers offering free cashback donations – including the likes of M&S, eBay and Just Eat.
When the charity’s supporters do their online shopping via easyfundraising, the retailers they buy from donate a percentage of their purchase to the charity without adding any extra expense to their bill.
“We started using easyfundraising after another parent told me about the platform, at first I thought it was too good to be true, that we could get something for nothing, but after a few months and people signing on to easyfundraising, the donations came in very quickly,” added Ellen.
To date Bandanas for the Brave has raised close to £300 through easyfundraising. You can join them here. More than £58 million has been raised for over 190,000 good causes and charities via easyfundraising since 2007, with more and more online shoppers signing up each day.
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