Family Focus: Students honor people with cancer

MON — Cancer claims the lives of hundreds of people each year. The fact is more than just a statistic at Piedmont Middle School, which lost three students to cancer.

Dozens at Piedmont High School participated Friday in a national movement to honor them, by making a statement to show others with the disease they are not alone.

“We want to show everyone that has cancer we care about them,” said Marisa Counts.

Counts and her friends want everyone with cancer to know: “We can’t possibly understand what they’re going through, but we’re here for them,” she said.

That’s why the group is hid its hair Friday.

“I have a bald cap on to bring awareness to cancer,” Emma Sokoloski said.

About 200 students at the high school put on tan caps to spread the message: “Be bold. Be bald.”

“Taking away my vanity in support of someone who can’t have the opportunity to have hair,” said Liz Reed, a senior.

“We’re doing this to show people how big it is, and how we need to raise the money for it to help people out that have it,” Sokoloski said.

"It's important to me because I lost my uncle to cancer when I was 4 years old. He had leukemia, and I only remember him being bald, so it's really important for them to spread awareness," Counts said.

Other students have stared at the students with no hair.

"They stare and wonder why we're doing it, and since it's the first year, not a lot of people really understand it yet, but we're still going to tell them why, and we're going to hope that they grow this cause for next year,” Counts said.

For more information about this movement, click here.

WSOC