DANNY'S FLOWING LOCKS TAKE A TUMBLE FOR TEENAGE CANCER TRUST

See photos of Danny losing his locks >>

Danny has raised £2,027 so far and it's still rising ...

Donate at http://www.justgiving.com/dannybenford

Nineteen year old Danny Benford from Kelvedon in Essex is hoping to raise hundreds of pounds for Teenage Cancer Trust this weekend, by shaving off his long locks for the charity's £1million appeal for a specialist unit at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge . Danny will be doing the deed at this year's TCT celebrity cricket match on Sunday 29th June.

Danny says, “I've been involved with Teenage Cancer Trust for a few years now, and wanted to do something really special this time. The celebrity cricket match seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a real splash!”

He continues, “I've had long hair for ages so thought it would be a good way to get people interested in Teenage Cancer Trust and would encourage more people to sponsor me and raise money for the new unit at Addenbrooke's. Thankfully I haven't had cancer, but can imagine how awful it must be after meeting some of the patients. I don't have to lose my hair, but thousands of teenagers do due to the treatments for the disease. This is my way of showing them support.”

Six teenagers are diagnosed with cancer each day, that's over 2,000 every year.  But these young patients don't stop being teenagers just because they get cancer. Teenage Cancer Trust ensures that young cancer patients get the best possible care in hospital and the chance to do all the things that other teenagers do.  

TCT funds specialist teenage cancer units in NHS hospitals, with the aim being to give every young person with cancer access to a unit and improve survival rates – which means opening a further 14 units by 2012. TCT currently has 9 units around the country. It costs around £2million to open a new unit, all of which we have to raise.

Design of the whole TCT unit at Addenbrooke's is underway, incorporating lots of innovative ideas about space and décor provided by teenage cancer patients themselves. Building work is scheduled to start in summer 2009, and due to be completed by the end of that year.

The Addenbrooke's TCT unit will cost around £2million to complete. Half of this money will be raised across East Anglia . It will be open for cancer patients aged between 13 and 24, from East Anglia and surrounding areas.