Kyle Hartman

Five years ago my girlfriend from Australia, Emily, (who I started to call #myaussie on social media in 2011 when we first started dating) moved to Canada so we could beat the long-distance relationship. Shortly after she moved to Canada Emily was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumour. She had to fly back to Australia for surgery & we found ourselves back in a long-distance relationship. It was at that time that I decided to show my support for #myaussie by growing my hair out and thus I started the "Cut-It-Out" fundraising campaign to help raise funds for cancer research so we can hopefully find a cure for this disease.

Not only was the surgery a success for Emily with most of the tumour removed, the Cut-It-Out fundraising campaign was a success as well and we were able to raise $2,800 for cancer research.

Enter 2 years later- I find myself living in Australia alongside #myaussie and we find out she needed to undergo brain surgery again as the tumour had grown. The surgery went well, but the results showed the tumour to be Grade 3 Cancer. Emily was to then go through 12 months of chemotherapy & 33 radiation sessions.

I and happy and proud to say Emily has completed her treatment and is doing well. We are also now happily married. And have a child expected in December. I am so proud of how far Emily has come by beating this!

Standing by Emily during her treatments made me want kick start this next round of the Cut-It-Out campaign. This is where the giant yellow scissors came into play. I wanted to have a symbol that tied into cutting my hair & cutting cancer out of our lives. The yellow represents the yellow daffodils -the symbol of hope in the fight against cancer.

Throughout the past few years, I have been getting celebrities to stand behind the yellow scissors & show their support for the Cut-It-Out campaign. Such celebrities who have shown their support include: Chris Hemsworth, Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, UFC's Ronda Rousey, tennis pros Novak Djokovic & Maria Sharapova, and many many more! You can see all the celebrity photos and keep up to date on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/cutitout4cancer

Last year I hosted my 2nd Cut-It-Out fundraising event in Canada. We raised over $4,400 for cancer research! Now this year I want to host my very first event in Australia & support the local cancer research organisation. In February 2018, I will be sacrificing my hair for the 3rd time, this time raising funds for the Cancer Council.

I am asking for your help with any possible donation you can make to meet my fundraising goal. Every little bit helps in the fight against cancer and I do believe we will one day find a cure.

Thank you for your support.