It was an act of real love.
Canberra couple Danii and Dan Dromgold have been soulmates ever since they met ten years ago.
Then, Dan was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2021 and Danii's support never wavered.
This week, that support went a few steps further.
Throughout this year, Danii has raised almost $30,000 for critical research into brain cancer by promising to shave off her hair.
Dan, a barber, did the honours on Tuesday, in a special ceremony at the Australian National University.
It turned out to be, at times, incredibly emotional for the young parents who have been through so much over the last five years.
But there was also joy.
Tuesday was also Danii's 35th birthday and she couldn't have been happier watching her long lustrous locks fall to the ground.
"For me and my particular circumstances, I feel it's something I can do quite easily," she said.
"People have been really shocked by it which, you know, is really great for donations, and people wanting to get on board, which is amazing. But for me, it's a way to support all cancer patients, but especially brain cancer patients.
"I think we're in the minority of brain cancer families where we're living a really normal life. But a lot of brain cancer patients, they don't get time. They get told they have 12 months to five years at the most. So, if someone says to me, 'you can raise $30,000 by shaving your hair off', it's a no-brainer, pardon the pun."
Dan was diagnosed with brain tumour in 2021, just before his 32nd birthday.
It was a time when the Chapman couple had been feeling on top of the world - they'd just celebrated the birth of their first son and sold a home they'd renovated together.
"We were so naive. We had no knowledge around brain cancer, we had nothing," Danii said.
"And you also kind of think it's never going to happen to you."
Dan was diagnosed with a Grade 2 oligodendroglioma or slow-growing brain tumour.
He underwent an awake craniotomy - brain surgery while he was conscious - and the tumour was removed.
The young father recovered well, but he will require MRI scans every six months indefinitely.
He and Danii also live with the knowledge that his tumour is expected to recur.
"This is something we're now going to live with forever," she said.
"It's not a matter of 'if' it will come back, it's a matter of 'when' it will come back.
"That's a hard thing to hear but, it's kept us grounded and we do value things differently. It's changed our whole way of living.
"What it really made us value is the simple things in life. The everyday, mundane things."
Dan is a barber with The Locker Room in Narrabundah while Danii is an accountant in the public service. Dan has discovered running and is training for a half-marathon. The couple has two young sons, Forest, four, and Brooks, two. The brain cancer diagnosis changed their perspective on life.
"We can all get bogged in the intricate details of life and that we're busy and we've got so many competing priorities but now it's like, 'Who cares if someone cut us off in traffic? At least we're alive and well'. It doesn't mean we're perfect and nothing ever bothers us, it just means, we don't care if we have a big house or a fancy car, at least we're alive and well."
Danii raised close to $30,000 for the Australian Brain Cancer Foundation and the Canberra Brain Cancer Biobank, a research resource based at the Australian National University.
The biobank preserves brain tumour and blood samples that enable research into brain cancer genetics, tumour behaviour, drug testing and future treatments.
Australian Brain Cancer Foundation chief executive Milena Skepev said Danii's fundraising would make a real difference.
"Danii has shown extraordinary courage and love for her community," Ms Skepev said.
"When her husband Dan was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2021, there was no support here in Canberra for families like hers. Today, because of families like Danii's, that support exists."
Based in Canberra, the Australian Brain Cancer Foundation was established in 2023 to address the significant challenges faced by brain cancer patients and their families.
Ms Skepev said without further funding the future of resources such as the biobank in Canberra was bleak.
"Without the biobank, ANU's drug discovery research ends, research that is urgently needed to develop life-saving treatments. We lose our PhD and postdoctoral researchers, and Canberra stops being a centre for brain cancer research altogether," she said.
However, the foundation was "not willing to let that happen".
"We have taken on the fight to fund this program ourselves, because so much effort, time and funding has already gone into building it, and we refuse to see that go to waste," Ms Skepev said.
Danii, meanwhile, said she was "super-proud" of raising so much money, but also awareness, for the Brain Cancer Foundation.
"Because we had a really isolating experience, I just wouldn't want that for anyone else. It was really hard," she said.
"I just think it's so important to know that the service is available, whether you want to use it or not. When you're navigating this, it's very overwhelming, so if you can get any points in the right direction, it makes it a lot more seamless."
