Woodend’s Steve Cutajar has family who would do almost anything for him – even shave their heads.
It’s not your typical 60th birthday gift, but for Steve, who has been diagnosed with a rare form of leukaemia, it meant more than he could say.
His children Bianca and Matthew Cutajar, along with Bianca’s husband Marcus Sutton and Steve’s father Joe, braved the razor last week to raise funds and awareness for blood cancers through The World’s Greatest Shave.
Under the team name The Steves, they began with a target of $1000. They have now quadrupled this total and fundraising efforts continue.
Steve was recently diagnosed with Chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML) – an uncommon blood cancer or form of leukaemia that is characterised by high numbers of white blood cells, called ‘monocytes’, in the blood and bone marrow.
CMML is often managed using a ‘watch and wait’ approach that involves regular monitoring of blood and general health.
Steve said, without any symptoms, the diagnosis would not have been made had it not been for regular health checks with his GP.
It has prompted him to encourage others to keep up their routine health checks.
