Students at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine raised more than $2,100 for children’s cancer research in a spirited fundraising event where even their hair couldn’t resist getting involved.

On March 16, the Oncology Interest Group (OncIG,) the Pediatric Interest Group (PIG,) and the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA) partnered with the St. Baldricks Foundation for the annual “Shave to Save St. Baldrick’s Fundraiser for Pediatric Cancer Research.” About 30 students participated.

St. Baldricks is the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants, having put more than $356 million towards its efforts. OUWB hosted a head-shaving event, where participants gathered donations to not only raise money, but show solidarity with people diagnosed with cancer.

Trenton Reinicke, M2, president of OncIG, and Tate Shepherd, M2, vice president of OncIG, helped coordinate the event, emphasizing the importance of raising awareness.

“A lot of kids go through chemo and lose their hair, and shaving is one way to raise awareness of the prevalence of childhood cancers, as well as to show solidarity with these patients who go through that,” said Shepherd. “We use the publicity of this hair shaving as a cause to rally around fundraising to support pediatric cancer research.”

Reinicke highlighted the universal impact of cancer.

“Everyone has experiences with cancer, directly or indirectly, through training or in the hospitals, but it’s just one of those diseases that affects everyone in some ways. It’s just a hard experience for individuals,” said Reinicke.

Shepherd also noted that while first- and second-year medical students may have limited clinical exposure to patients, events like this allow them to make a difference.

“Most of us know somebody who's gone through cancer diagnosis, and especially prior to medical school, it's a situation we often feel really powerless in. We want to help and want to support where we can,” said Shepherd.

“Those are similar factors that motivated most of us to come to medical school – to be there for people during these difficult times. As medical students, especially in our first two years, we don't have a lot of time in the clinic where we get to be there with patients. This is an opportunity for us to do something to help and support and reinforce those motives that brought us into the medical field.”

Zahraa Al-Fatlawi, M2, a member of OncIG, has spent the last few months planning the event. The process included securing a barber for the event, coordinating food, and working directly with representatives from St. Baldrick’s.

“We've been planning this event for the past four or five months,” said Al-Fatlawi.

Branden Lee, M1, was among the students who shaved their heads to show support.

“It's important as people that are joining the health care profession that we should be showing solidarity in small ways,” Lee said. “Maybe you're walking to the hospital or on the street and there's a cancer patient who can maybe appreciate seeing a future health care provider having their head shaved.”

Lee also reflected on the emotional aspect of the event.

“There's just a lot of emotional moments that kind of get lost in searching for scientific knowledge,” said Lee. “It's these kinds of moments that are nice to remind us why we started doing this in the first place.”

Michael Fiscus, director of business development for St. Baldricks, expressed excitement about the high student turnout and stressed the importance of young professionals engaging in pediatric cancer research.

“It's very important to get young people involved, especially in the medical field, as we just need all these new people going into pediatric cancer research," said Fiscus. “It's great seeing all the students here.”

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