A mum from County Durham who was diagnosed with incurable cancer is raising money to have her own hair made into a wig before she loses it during treatment.
Rachel Hodgson, 30, from Witton-le-Wear, Bishop Auckland, was first diagnosed with cervical cancer in May 2017 and had two surgeries to remove it.
She was put in remission in October that year and remained cancer-free until her world came crashing down once again when she was told on Christmas Eve that it had returned.
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However, Rachel said this time the cancer had returned "with a vengeance" spreading to her lymph nodes and at the end of January, she was told it was stage 4 cancer and that it was sadly incurable.
Ahead of her starting chemotherapy and three lots of medication to prolong her life, Rachel cut off her long locks and is raising money to have them made into a weave.
Rachel said her only wish at the moment is to be able to wear her own hair as it's a "huge part of her" but to also keep life as normal as possible for her, her partner Robert, and her two-year-old daughter Jesse.
She said: "I've been told I will lose my hair very quickly and my hair is a big part of who I am. My only wish at the moment is to get my own hair back on my head.
"I want my hair back for me but I want it for Jesse as well because I want things to be as normal as possible for her."
During the surgeries in 2017 to remove the cancer, a part of Rachel's cervix was removed and she was told she would never be able to have children.
But despite this, she was amazed when she fell pregnant and gave birth to a tiny baby girl in 2019 at 32 weeks who she said is her "entire world".
Rachel said: "They said I would never be able to conceive children through all the scar tissue, they said I would not be able to carry a child.
"When I fell pregnant, they were waiting to see if I could carry the baby and if not that was it really.
"Jesse really is something else and she keeps us going.
"She's still dinky but she's absolutely amazing. They said she would be behind on all her milestones until she's two but she's far from behind!
"She really is a miracle baby. She made it despite everything and she's going to get us through this now."
Rachel is awaiting a date to start treatment to hopefully prolong her life but admitted she doesn't think it's sunk in properly.
She said: "When I had a PET scan, they found out how aggressive it really is. The cancer had spread from my cervix to my lymph nodes and throughout my body. It's very aggressive in my stomach.
"They're going to put me on three drugs which is quite unusual but it's hopefully going to prolong my life.
"I still don't think it's sunk in properly.
"As the saying goes, you don't know how strong you are until being strong is your only choice and that is a quote that has stuck with me.
"I've got a two-year-old I've got to stay strong. Life has got to be as normal as possible for her."
Rachel got her hair cut on Saturday but said she will shave off her hair as soon as it begins to fall out alongside her friend Taylor Brown who will shave her hair off as well.
She said: "I wanted my hair cut before the treatment starts so my hair is healthy to make a weave out of.
"When my hair starts to fall out I'll just shave it off because I don't want to wake up with hair on my pillow because it will just upset me.
"A friend of mine said if I'm shaving my hair, she's shaving it with me. So in the first instance my hair starts to fall out, we're shaving our hair together, which is just amazing."
Although Rachel has had her hair cut, she still needs to raise £5,500 to be able to pay for it to be turned into a wig that she can wear.
A Go Fund Me page was set up to try and raise the funds with more than £2,000 being raise in a matter of days leaving Rachel "overwhelmed".
She said: "I'm absolutely overwhelmed by how much has been raised so far. I have friends who are all doing their own fundraising for me and there's a raffle being organised.
"I'm gobsmacked how much has been raised and we only set up a few days ago even from people I don't even know."
If you would like to donate to the fundraising page, you can do so here.
