A round of applause erupted in the Gwynne Park Guide Hall as the first part of Julie’s hair fell to the ground when it was shaved.
After being diagnosed with stage three, triple negative breast cancer and other medical concerns at the end of March, Julie Williams – or more affectionately known as Bubbles to the scouting community – was forced to step down from her duties to commence chemotherapy.
Exhausted, sick, and vomiting, Julie still thought about ways she could help others.
With support from her Armadale Joey Scouts and their parents, she publicly shaved her head to raise money for Breast Cancer Foundation WA and World’s Greatest Shave.
Julie said by shaving her head in front of the scouts on the weekend, it allowed the children to adjust to seeing her bald.
“There were a lot of emotions running on Sunday,” she said.
“It was brave. I felt very brave because I was very, very nervous and I kept putting off the shave.
“I was really nervous actually.
“I was doing this in front of people. Most people just go to the hairdressers and do it, but I put it out there.
“I did my hair at the very end to allow other people to have their fun and shave their hair, and a few people had a few tears when I got my hair shaved.”
Julie said she wanted to make the weekend fundraising event about other people to make the activity more “normal” for her as she was no stranger to helping others.
“Even though I’m sick, I could still do something to help others,” she said.
“Everyone said it was about me, but I wanted to turn it around and make it about Breast Cancer WA, World’s Greatest Shave, and the kids.
“My mum started off the colouring. She’s 81 and grey, but she had all blue hair by the end of it.
“Up until the time I started my shave, it was normal. Unfortunately, you don’t get those normal days very often.
“When it was my shave, it was a lot more confronting because I sat in front of a group of people to do it.
“Obviously I knew them well, but you’re still shaving off your hair.
“It’s not a normal, everyday day.”
One of the Scout mums suggested Julie have a public shave with the scout group as her son, one of Julie’s joeys, lost his grandmother to cancer and was shocked to see a member of his family without hair.
“It was way for the kids to understand Bubbles is going to have a shaved head,” Julie said.
“The kids, especially young ones, don’t understand these things very well so they were included in a huge part of this.
“There’s still a lot of stigma around cancer. The first words out of my grandson’s mouth, who was nine when he found out, he thought I was going to die.”
Other members of Julie’s network including her family and scouting group shaved their heads or beards, and coloured their hair.
Karizma Hair Studio’s Zoe Carter volunteered her time to help shave and colour hair at Julie’s fundraiser for cancer.
“Two of the dads decided to shave with me, and another dad shaved his beard. Every other person there on Sunday coloured their hair or beard,” Julie said.
“The people that shaved their head allowed the scout kids to shave part of it.
“I allowed the kids to help shave my hair, then my hairdresser finished it off.
“I had my mum, my daughter, grandchildren, and one of my friends come up and they all wanted to shave it as well.
“Any kids that wanted to shave my hair stood in line to help start shaving my hair. It was a matter of the kids understanding Bubbles was going to have a bald head.”
When Julie saw herself bald, surrounded by loved ones and her hair on the floor, she was forced to accept the fact she had cancer.
“When the shave happened, that’s when it really became real,” she said.
“Before that, I still had my hair, I still had my identity. But when the hair goes, it’s like I lost a part of me.
“Before the shave, I kept my hair pulled back because I was losing it from the chemo, and I kept it pulled back because it wasn’t so real and a lot of people said to me it didn’t even look like I had lost my hair when it was pulled back.
“I’ve had a lot of people say to me they can’t imaging losing their hair.”
Julie had to face the tough decision to step down as the assistant scout leader and prioritise her health.
“I had to step down from the scouts completely because they found other issues. I was devastated and in tears by the end of the meeting because scouts have been my life,” Julie said.
“I can’t do the job that I’m volunteering for but the outpour, not just from people within the group but from the whole scouting association was phenomenal.
“It was a bit overwhelming in the beginning with so many people offering their help and support, and the help has been very hard to accept because I’m a person who goes and helps everybody else. No matter the situation, I’ll always put my hand up to help.
“The scout group has all been saying to me that all they want is for me to get better so I can go back.
“That’s what scouting is really all about. It’s about family and it doesn’t mean you have to be blood related.”
Since Julie’s diagnosis, her health and lifestyle has been a struggle.
“From the first round of chemo I started losing hair,” she said.
“The night of the first chemo I had pains shooting around my body. It went to my right liver, went to my right leg, three toes were numb. I’ve had a lot of pain and fatigue from day one. Tiredness, headaches, and vomiting started second round.
“I’ll fight this though.
“I’m a fighter, I’ve always been a fighter.”
While the money raised for Breast Cancer WA has almost doubled Julie’s target of $1,000, donations for World’s Greatest Shave are still open until December online at https://www.worldsgreatestshave.com/fundraisers/juliewilliams.
