Bishopbriggs student’s close shave raises £9k for Beatson

A young Bishopbriggs student, who has raised almost £9,000 for the Beatson after being diagnosed with testicular cancer, is urging people to check themselves regularly for possible signs of the disease.
Hal Dhami is all smiles after his fundraising head shaveHal Dhami is all smiles after his fundraising head shave
Hal Dhami is all smiles after his fundraising head shave

Hal Dhami (21), a student at Strathclyde University, told the Herald he feels lucky to have caught the disease early.

The local man was diagnosed with stage two cancer in November last year after heading to the doctor when he found a suspicious lump.

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Hal said: “The day I received my diagnosis, I wanted to write a Facebook post to let everyone know and to raise awareness.

“I wanted people, my age especially, to realise that this can happen to anyone and the best thing you can do is to check yourself regularly and try to catch it early.”

Hal also decided he was going to do a sponsored head shave to raise money for Beatson Cancer Charity and set up a Just Giving page.

He added: “I was facing three cycles of chemotherapy so there was a risk my hair was going to fall out. I wanted to take control and shave it myself before that happened.”

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Within hours he had already surpassed his target of £250 and raised £2000. A week later, 13 of Hal’s university friends got in touch and said they wanted to shave their heads in solidarity. The total then reached an incredible £6000.

The head shave was planned to take place at Hal’s local barbers, Bishopbriggs Barber Shop, but Hal had a bad reaction to his medicine and ended up in hospital. However, he still carried out the head shave a week later.

He said: “I was sad to miss out, but the main thing is that they did it and played their part in spreading awareness.

“We also managed to have some laughs afterwards with one of the boys recommending moisturiser for our heads, calling it ‘a game changer!’”

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So far, the total is sitting at £8600 and Hal can’t believe the generosity of people.

He added: “There have been donations from friends, family and people I know from a very long time ago, anonymous donations and people who don’t even know me. It’s amazing.”

Hal spent time at Beatson Cancer Charity’s Wellbeing Centre when he was receiving treatment and wanted to give back.

He said: “I made good use of the Wellbeing Centre while I was having treatment. It was a place I could go for some peace and quiet.

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“I had massages and I learned how much the place means to other people going through cancer. I wanted to turn a bad situation into a good one and raise as much as I could for the charity.”

You can donate at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/haldhami