AT THE age of just 16 months, Millie Cross became one of the 2850 Australians to be diagnosed with leukaemia in 2013.

It was experience that turned her family’s world upside down, her father Lucas said.

“It’s soul-destroying, the fear, the uncertainty,” he said.

But happily, while some effects of the illness linger, Millie is now an otherwise healthy five-year-old, having undergone her final treatment almost two years ago.

It is for his daughter that Mr Cross will shave his beard on Saturday as part of the World’s Greatest Shave for the Leukaemia Foundation.

He said the organisation gave his family a lot of support and information during Millie’s fight.

Mr Cross has been growing his beard for the past 11 months and hopes to raise $4800, which will cover three months of research into treatments.

He will shave his beard at the Cambrian Hotel during a fundraising event, including a raffle, that will run from 12pm to 4pm.

“(I’m) a little bit scared, I’m wondering what my chin looks like,” Mr Cross said.

Each day, 35 people are diagnosed with blood cancer in Australia – about one every 41 minutes - and it remains the third most common cause of cancer death.