Teenager received an LPT wig nine years ago

A teenager has donated her gorgeous locks to The Little Princess Trust – nine years after receiving a wig from us.

Seren Deverell was aged just five when she was diagnosed with Wilms Tumour. With stage 5 cancer in her kidneys and stage 4 in her right lung, she underwent brutal treatment and surgery, and missed an entire year of school.

Knowing that she would lose her hair, Seren cut her cherished long locks while her mum, Jenny, let her daughter shave her head in solidarity.

Her mum said that Seren was born with lots of hair and by the time she was three it was down to her waist.

“It was long and thick and this lovely mid-brown colour with blonde running through it,” explained Jenny.

“She used to get compared to the Little Mermaid – her hair was like her trademark, so we knew it would be such a big part of her to lose.”

Seren admitted that the thought of going out in public without hair was scary.

“The wig from The Little Princess Trust helped give me the confidence to carry on,” she added.

As well as missing a full year of school, Seren missed out on a further 35% of lessons due to hospital appointments and illness. Remarkably, she managed to catch up up and is now excelling in high school. 

For the past eight-and-a-half years Seren has also carefully grown her hair, and only had half-inch trims on her trips to the hairdresser.

That was until New Year's Eve when award-winning hairdresser Sam Elliot cut a staggering 18 inches of Seren’s hair so she could donate it for other young people experiencing hair loss.

“Cutting it now feels like a really significant moment after everything I've been through,” she said. “It feels like now I can take the last step and put the cancer behind me.”

As well as donating her hair, Seren and her mum set up a JustGiving page and have so far raised more than £600 for The Little Princess Trust.

Jenny said that she can still remember the last time she washed and dried her daughter’s hair before Seren started treatment.

“It marked the start of a campaign to raise awareness,” she added.

“Seren shaved my hair herself, and she went on BBC Breakfast.

“Five years after finishing treatment and seeing how much Seren’s hair had grown felt incredibly symbolic of how far she had come.

“We couldn’t imagine a more meaningful way to close this chapter than raising money and donating Seren’s hair.”

To make a donation to Seren's JustGiving page, click here.