Olivia Iorio will look a little different from her fellow high school graduates at prom this year.
Along with the regular pressures of the nerve wracking rite of passage, the 17-year-old will be completely bald.
Monday at The Sacred Heart School of Montreal, she shaved her head to raise funds for the Montreal Children’s Hematology/Oncology Department.
She did it in honour of her eight-year-old cousin, Vincenzo, who passed away April 9.
He had been battling neuroblastoma, a cancer that forms in different types of nerve tissues.
“I want to be like my cousin. He was a very strong, courageous, brave boy and I want to be just like him,” Iorio told Global News.
Her original goal was to raise $10,000 to provide TVs and video games to young cancer patients; she ended up raising over $15,000.
She hopes her contribution will help give patients “a sense of home.”
READ MORE: Governments need to do more for young people with cancer: report
Iorio had hoped her cousin would be there to watch as she shaved her head.
“I told him and he told me he was really excited for the day. I thought he was going to be here today,” she said.
“Our families are very close, so he was like my little brother.”
Next month, she’ll be the only one in her class at the all-girls school with a bald head under her graduation cap.
“I was kind of scared today, how I was going to look being bald, but apparently I look OK. I would do anything for my cousin,” Iorio said.
“My head is cold, but I’m very happy that I did this for my cousin and I just feel great.”
She told Global News her friends have stood by her, too.
“They’ve been great. Very supportive, very excited. Probably even more excited than me,” she said.
Anyone who wants to contribute to her campaign can click here.
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