Rancho Bernardo teen goes bald to fund cancer research

To raise $3,000 for a charity that helps those with cancer, 17-year-old Leah Haberman had her long hair shaved off.

Her fundraiser concluded on Jan. 15 at Chloe’s Carousel, a hair salon near Rancho Bernardo High School, where Haberman is a senior.

Surrounded by family and friends, she first had two braids, each at least 10-inch long, cut off so her hair could be donated to Pantene’s Beautiful Lengths program. It provides free, real-hair wigs for women with cancer. Then she had her remaining short locks shaved off to fulfill a promise she made to donors.

The fundraiser was something Haberman said she came up with while sitting on a train.

“I was looking out the window and I was thinking about my life; my whole 17 years of existence,” she wrote in her letter to potential donors.

“I have decided to finally do something that is for others utterly and completely, in a way a 17-year-old can. I have done a lot of good in this world (if I do say so myself), but it was always because of someone else.

“People gave me the means and I took them, but this time it starts with me and ends with me, with all of you in the middle,” Haberman wrote before explaining her plan.

In exchange for friends, family and others donating money to the Cancer Research Institute through a webpage Haberman established, she would have her hair shaved off if donations accumulated to $3,000. As of last Thursday, she raised $3,100.

“I promise to uphold my end of the bargain if you do,” she wrote, adding, “Because really, you’re not helping me, you are helping yourself, you are helping those you love and you are helping to create a future where cancer is not the dark specter that lurks over everyone’s future. A little goes a long way, so help me cut out cancer and let’s start by cutting my hair.”

The daughter of Rancho Bernardo residents Drs. Cara Cohen-Haberman and Mark Haberman said many teens do community service projects to pump up their college applications. But that is not her motivation — especially since her applications were submitted before coming up with this idea that took about three weeks to complete.

“My parents are doctors and cancer is a thing everybody worries about,” she said. “Maybe I’m not affected now in the present, but this is not for me. Helping someone I’ve never met is good enough for me.”

She has an aunt who survived breast cancer and Haberman said she did a lot of research before selecting the Cancer Research Institute. “I wanted to make sure the place was not bogus and they give the largest percentage (of donations) to the cause.” She said its research with immunotherapy also appealed to her.

Haberman said people’s reactions to her plan surprised her. “What was most interesting was those telling me not to do it, especially family members,” she said, adding, “To me it was not a big deal ... but it’s interesting, the different perspectives about vanity and self sacrifice.”

Also surprising was her classmates, some whom she barely knows, who donated and helped spread the word, she said.

Just hours before fulfilling her promise Haberman said she was “terrified” and “freaked out” just a bit because she never had her hair cut short before and was even resistant to trims.

“I love my long hair,” she said.

But making the sacrifice, two weeks before winter formal and knowing prom, graduation and other special occasions await her in coming months, was worth it, she said, adding this is her choice, unlike cancer patients who have no choice when they lose their hair due to chemotherapy.

A day after her hair was removed, Haberman said, “Right now I’m having such mixed feelings about what I did. It was a lot of emotions going on at once, like I feel good about what I did, but at the same time it’s such a change.”

As her hair starts to grow back — she is hoping it will be chin-length by graduation in June — Haberman said she plans on “rocking a few styles” by using hats and accessories, but has no plans to wear a wig.