Naomi Fayers and Sherie Brodie decided to lop their locks at St John of God Hospital on Friday, after seeing first-hand the impact cancer has on people’s lives.

Mrs Brodie said they just wanted to make a difference.

“There are six people that I’ve personally known that have had leukaemia,” she said.

“Luckily only one has passed away and that was a long time ago. Things have changed from when I was 19 to being 49. There has been a lot of research.

“But it just goes on, you see it every day.

“I have been thinking for a few years about shaving my head and I decided to just do it.

“It was the right time for me to make it a success. You have got to have the energy for fundraising.

“But I want to say to anyone thinking of doing it, don’t let people say you are the brave ones, it is the people who have cancer that are brave.

“We have a choice to get our hair cut.”                                                  

Mrs Brodie said the pair were “rapt” with how much they raised.

“We were thinking $2000 each would be hard to get” she said.

“We made $300 each just on the day.

“I think whenever a woman shaves her hair there is more impact. It brings people together.”

Ms Fayers, who decided to shave her head after watching her aunt battle lymphoma, said she was amazed by how many people came on the day.

“I am so blown away by all the people who have come to support us,” she said.

The hospital atrium was packed with friends, family and colleagues supporting the pair, with many people volunteering to have their hair spray painted for the cause.

The hospital, which also organised a lunch for a gold coin donation, dedicated its annual shave event to former staff member Kim Davis, who was killed in a road accident a week before she was due to shave her head in 2012, after raising hundreds of dollars.