A DUKINFIELD schoolgirl has ‘done it for daddy’ by getting her long hair cut off to help others.
Liara Handley marked what would have been father Liam’s 40th birthday by losing 16 inches of the locks she had grown for 10 years.
So far, she has raised more than £1,200 for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation – making it more than £12,000 donated in his memory – and her hair is being donated to the Little Princess Trust, with it being made into a wig for a child living with cancer.
Just as important is the awareness having her cut at Pisces Hair Studio on Lodge Lane at 11am on Friday, April 5 will create.
“She wanted to do something,” said Liam’s father Gordon, who saw his son pass away on October 4, 2021 after being diagnosed with the condition.
“We’ve been raising money for Roy Castle through various events we’ve been having – raffles, fun days, selling crafts – and she said, ‘I want to do something.’
“So we came up with the idea of having her hair cut and then donating it to the Little Princess Trust.
“She wasn’t backing out. She did it and she was very excited. It’s about doing something for her daddy and it would’ve been his 40th birthday.”
Liam passed away after being diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.
A non-smoker and seemingly healthy young man, he did not fit the stereotypical image of someone diagnosed with it.
Which is why his family is determined to create as much awareness as possible.
Gordon added: “It’s what we’ve all committed to do, raise money for Roy Castle, Liam’s chosen charity, but also that awareness that let us down.
“It’s been such a big part of Liara’s life and will remain so. We’ve said we’ll raise money and awareness for as long as we can, she’s on the train with us.
“It’s not just about raising money. It’s about keeping on banging the drum about lung cancer in young people and non-smokers.
“If you go to the doctor’s and they turn you away and say, ‘Go away. It’s just anxiety.’ Don’t, you’ve got to keep pushing.
“It’s that stigma. You don’t smoke, you’re young, you don’t think about lung cancer.
“If there are some signs like Liam had, like blood clots, you’d hope people think, ‘Why is a 36-year-old getting blood clots?’
“They didn’t even think about cancer. That’s why we’re doing it to bring it to the attention of younger people.
“It needs picking up at stage one or two. Get to stage three or four you have little chance. Liam was seeing his doctors for pains in his chest, but they put it down to other things, cancer was never thought about. A few weeks after that, he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer.
“All we’re doing is one of Liam’s wishes. He said to us all that he didn’t want to be just a picture.”
Liam’s mother Lynn added: “Liam went home from hospital and we were told, ‘He needs to come back for a CT (Computed Tomography) scan.’
“When I called, they said, ‘We’re not doing CT scans now, we’ve stopped them until September.’
“So we paid for him to have one privately and see specialists, that was when he was diagnosed.”
Liara’s hair was cut by Pam O’Brien, who owns Pisces Hair Salon, and for it to harvested and turned into a wig, it had to be cut in a certain way.
It was bunched up into several sections, marked then trimmed.
And even though she shared any nerves with the person doing the cutting, Liara insisted: “I’m doing it. I’m ready.”
Proud mum Louise told of her daughter: “She’s very brave and courageous.”
Lynn told The Correspondent: “Liara’s hair was down to her waist. She’s always had long hair and when she was tiny, she used to call it her princess hair as she wanted to be a princess.
“It’s always been kept trimmed but she’d never had it cut short before. It’s now a shoulder length bob.
“I think she was quite looking forward to it.
“Pam who owns salon has cut Liara’s hair since she was 18 months old. I’m not too sure how she was feeling.”
*ANYONE wishing to donate can do so via https://liamhandley.muchloved.com/.