This close shave was worth it to support pal Susan

NURSE Susan Blacker has devoted the past six years to helping patients fight cancer.

NURSE Susan Blacker has devoted the past six years to helping patients fight cancer.

So when she was diagnosed with the disease it was natural that her friends would rally to support the mum-of-two.

But fellow nurse Tracey Cassidy decided to go one step further by shaving her head to raise cash for her pal, who lost her hair after undergoing chemotherapy.

A raucous crowd of nurses from the Southern General's Ward 62 gathered at Ferguson Hairdressing in Glasgow's Candleriggs to cheer her on.

Tracey said: "I was really nervous and a bit teary beforehand. I haven't had my hair cut short since I was a child so it was a bit of a shock.

"It feels quite liberating now I've had it done."

Staff and patients pledged more than £1500 to see the 38-year-old lose her long brown locks.

But the nurse, from Govan, said losing her hair was nothing compared to the laughs and fun Susan, from Cardonald, brings to the oncology unit.

Tracey added: "Susan is an amazing person with a wicked sense of humour. She hasn't had an easy life but she takes it all on the chin.

"She spends all her time doing things for other people. She goes round the patients on our ward giving them haircuts and making them feel special.

"I miss her when she's not at work. Her sense of humour changes the place. She should be on the stage with her jokes."

Susan, a former hairdresser who retrained as a nurse six years ago, was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year less than a year after her mum, June Forbes, died of the same disease.

Susan found a lump in her breast in March and contacted her doctor immediately.

She said: "I was gobsmacked, speechless for the first time in my life, when I learned I had the illness. I really was taken aback.

"My prognosis is good, because it was caught early and I'm thinking positively.

"It's not my time to go yet I've still got a lot of damage to do!"

Susan, 46, is mum to Michelle, 23, and Kevin, 21, and gran to 16-month-old Eva. She says the support she has had from colleagues on Ward 62 has been amazing.

She is undergoing chemo-therapy and will later have a course of radiotherapy.

She added: "It hasn't been easy. I've lost my hair and I look a bit like Uncle Fester but I'm staying bright.

"I'm looking forward to beating this and getting back to work.

"It's not easy because I can't get out as much any more and I feel tired but I still look after Eva and she keeps me going."

Susan's message to anyone diagnosed with the illness is to think positive.

The gran added: "I've seen a lot of cancer patients and you see a real difference in the ones who believe that they will get better.

"People who are determined to stay positive come round faster and spend less time recovering on the ward.

"A positive attitude really does make a difference.

"That, and having friends like these round you."