--- title: Boy Grows Out His Hair for 2 Years to Donate to Kids With Cancer description: 8-year-old Christian McPhilamy endured teasing for two years while he grew his hair out to donate to children who had lost theirs. canonical: https://time.com/3908910/boy-hair-donate-cancer/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-04T14:42:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:03:04.293Z og:title: Boy Grows Out His Hair for 2 Years to Donate to Kids With Cancer og:description: He was teased and mistaken for a girl og:url: https://time.com/3908910/boy-hair-donate-cancer/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Boy Grows Out His Hair for 2 Years to Donate to Kids With Cancer twitter:description: He was teased and mistaken for a girl twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Boy Grows Out His Hair for 2 Years to Donate to Kids With Cancer > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=c3064abf-c520-4c6a-879f-466f618416bb&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: How $1,000 Could Help Your Health [Watch (HLS stream): How $1,000 Could Help Your Health](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EILRa37f.m3u8) (2:01)  _Published 2014-08-22. From acupuncture to yoga, $1,000 can go a long way to improving your health._  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jun 4, 2015 2:42 PM UTC  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jun 4, 2015 2:42 PM UTC People teased him for looking like a girl, but 8-year-old Christian McPhilamy had long blonde hair for a very good reason. Christian, of Melbourne, Fla., had grown his hair out for more than two years to donate to children who had lost theirs, [Today reports](http://www.today.com/parents/florida-boy-grows-out-hair-donate-child-need-t24171). He recently got it cut and produced four 10-inch-long sections that he sent to the nonprofit [Children With Hair Loss](http://www.childrenwithhairloss.us/). As his hair got longer over the years, Christian was often teased by classmates, mistaken for a girl or told that he needed to cut his hair. “Christian has such a huge heart,” his mom, Deeanna Thomas, told Today. “I don’t even know if there are words to describe how proud I am of him.” \[[_Today_](http://www.today.com/parents/florida-boy-grows-out-hair-donate-child-need-t24171)\] ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] $ 1, 000 can really put you on the road to good health, or at least to better health. A lot of workers say that they're really stressed, unless productive. But half of workers say that stress makes them less productive at work. And there are a lot of studies that show that people who are more stressed have higher medical bills. And that makes sense. If you are stressed you may miss more work. You may go, go to doctor more often. So if you can invest $ 1000, you can really improve your health and lower your own costs. Yoga is a great way to reduce stress. It helps you with deep breathing, relaxation exercises. And a mindfulness that can really reduce your tension. Yoga classes cost about $ 15 to $ 20 each, at, that would get you doing downward dog about twice a week for six months. Acupuncture is another great way to reduce stress. It may be covered by your health insurance, so check that first. If not, acupuncture sessions cost about $ 16 to $ 120. Modern exercise has been proven as a great way to reduce stress. To incorporate it on a regular basis in your busy life, consider riding your bike to and from work. Or, taking a bike ride when you get home from work in the evening. Now, a good bike can cost you $ 1000. But think of it as a long- term investment, a good bike will last you many. If you have 10 thousand dollars, there's a lot you can do to invest in your health. A personal trainer, may give you the motivation you need to exercise, that you might not be able to do on your own. That costs you about 50 dollars a session, which could give you about 100 sessions, that you could spread out over two years. Another great way to. T find someone to motivate you is to consult a nutritionist. A first- time session with a nutitionist will cost about $ 150. But, if you wanna do follow- up sessions, to create say a health plan to see how you're doing, that'll cost you about $ 100. See if your health insurance may cover that, as well. 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