Scarborough's Mayoress shaves her head following cancer diagnosis

The mayoress of Scarborough has shaved her head to raise awareness of the importance of mammograms after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
All smilesAll smiles
All smiles

Cherry Smith was diagnosed with stage three, invasive breast cancer in late 2017 following a mammogram screening.

The current age bracket when women are routinely offered a mammogram every three years is between the ages of 50 and 70. She is outside the upper age limit to be offered a mammogram, but requested one due to her family’s history of breast cancer.

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She had no obvious outward signs of breast cancer so had she not gone for the procedure, she would not have known that she had cancer.

Cherry Smith with her wigCherry Smith with her wig
Cherry Smith with her wig

The mayoress has recently undergone successful surgery to remove the cancer and started her chemotherapy treatment last week.

Before her hair starts falling out she has taken the decision to have it all shaved off to shine a spotlight on how crucial mammograms are. Her own hairdresser, Lynn Elwell, of Cutting Edge, agreed to carry out the head shave.

Mayoress Mrs Smith said: “Many women don’t know you can request a free mammogram above the age of 70.

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"My experience shows how crucial the procedure is for spotting breast cancer early enough to have a chance of fighting it successfully.

Cherry Smith with her wigCherry Smith with her wig
Cherry Smith with her wig

"My plea also extends to those ladies between the ages of 50 and 70 who are routinely called for a mammogram but often put it off because they lead very busy lives or think they’re not in a high risk category.

“If I could just save one other person by encouraging them to attend a screening, then going through the head shave will be worthwhile.”