A devoted friend of a terminally ill woman has “braved the shave” to raise money for her additional treatment.

Vanessa Langford shaved off her hair at Hob Salons in Rickmansworth on November 2 so her best friend Clare can receive a costly proton beam therapy for her liver cancer.

Clare, who is from Garston, met Vanessa at a casting session for a modelling agency in London 25 years ago where the pair became fast friends.

Clare, 46, had suffered stomach pains for ten months before waking up one morning with a severely swollen abdomen.

She was admitted to hospital where she learned she has stage four terminal liver cancer. Clare was given between six months and five years to live in August, depending on the success of her chemotherapy.

Vanessa and Clare

 

Her husband, Mark, now works from home looking after his wife and three children, .

Vanessa said: “We met at a casting and instantly hit it off and have been inseparable ever since.

“Clare has overcome many things in her life, she is a beautiful lady and my best friend.

“She was diagnosed with terminal cancer of the liver about two months ago. Without treatment, her prognosis is bleak.

“I'm raising funds to try and get her proton beam therapy which is really her only other option.

“This will cost thousands of pounds and in addition to treatment it will go towards supporting her family.

“Since Mark a took drop in salary it has been a real struggle to make ends meet.”

Luke, Amy and Ruby

 

Vanessa launched a GoFundMe page publicising her “Brave the Shave” event in hopes of raising £2,000 in support of Clare.

Proton beam therapy uses a high energy beam of protons rather than high energy X-rays to deliver radiotherapy and works best on some very rare cancers.

www.gofundme.com/care-for-clare46