I was blessed with the opportunity to celebrate my birthday with cancer patients at Children’s National Medical Center this year.  They are awesome and remind me how lucky I am in my life.  These children are so precious that they inspired me to shave my head last year to raise money to help them fight pediatric cancer.  Thank you to everyone who made generous gifts and helped me surpass my goal.  

However, the battle isn’t over.  While Children’s National was able to hire new physicians to help in novel drug development, there are still children losing their hair because of the harsh side effects of chemotherapy.  I know how painful and discomforting these treatments are for me.  I can only imagine what they must feel like for a child. 

So I’m going to make the small sacrifice of shaving my head to show my support.  These kids don’t have the choice, but I gladly choose to be brave and bald.  Please make a donation today of $25 or more to help Children’s National and our young cancer patients.  With your contribution, we will bring hope to these children and their parents.  

I will shave my head on January 6, 2011 as part of the hospital’s Be Brave and Shave event this fall and winter.  Already police, firefighters, physicians, and community members have raised over $200,000 in the fight. 

If you want to join this fight by having your head shaved and writing a letter like this to all of your friends, please call Martha McCollum at 410-274-7871.  While you don’t have to volunteer to shave, I welcome the solidarity.  But please make a donation to show your support and help me meet my fundraising goal.  

Visit the Be Brave and Shave Web site to learn more about this wonderful cause:  www.bebraveandshave.org