Twin shaves head in solidarity with cancer-stricken sister

A woman in New Zealand bravely shaved her head alongside her twin sister, who was recently diagnosed with cancer, in a tear-jerking video that has since gone viral.

Joella Lee-lo, a 20-year-old Samoan living in Aukland, announced on Facebook that her sister, Joanna, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL), a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow, on April 6.

Due to coronavirus lockdown, Joanna was forced to begin her chemotherapy treatments alone in the hospital, “without her family there to hold her hand and wipe her tears when she needed it.”

“The only contact we had with her was through video calls and messages,” Joella shared. “It was a hard time for my family and I but especially for my sister.”

When Joanna made the difficult decision to shave her head to make her treatments easier, Joella supported her sister by doing the same.

“I couldn’t let her go through with it alone so I decided we’ll do it together just like everything else we’ve done together in this life,” Joella explained. “I love you so much my beautiful sister. You are a fighter and we’ll fight this battle together.”

On April 6th my beautiful twin sister Joanna was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia cancer. As devastating the news was, my sister had to start her treatments straight away but because of lockdown, she had to do it all alone in hospital without her family there to hold her hand and wipe her tears when she needed it. The only contact we had with her was through video calls and messages. It was a hard time for my family and I but especially for my sister. But through it all, she was brave and so strong and she knew God and Grandpa was there with her every step of the way. She had the support of our entire family too who prayed for her day and night, especially our Nana Tinei Fia Lee-lo. Today she decided to show just how brave and strong she was by shaving her head so treatments could be easier. I couldn’t let her go through with it alone so I decided we’ll do it together just like everything else we’ve done together in this life. I love you so much my beautiful sister. You are a fighter and we’ll fight this battle together❤️🙏🏽

Posted by Joella Lee-Lo on Saturday, May 16, 2020

The moving video, which shows the entire family hugging and wiping away each other’s tears as both sisters have their heads shaved, has since gone viral, racking up over 11 million views, plus more than 140,000 comments from well-wishers around the globe.

“You sister is strong and beautiful,” said one user. “She will fight this and win.”

“Wow..made me cry,” wrote another. “What a beautiful family.”

“This is beautiful I would do the same thing for my twin sister or any of my siblings,” said a third.

Joella later shared a photo of the two sisters beaming, looking radiant with their newly shaven heads.

“My first bestfriend,” she captioned the image. “By your side through it all sister.”

My first bestfriend❤️👯‍♀️ by your side through it all sister😘

Posted by Joella Lee-Lo on Saturday, May 16, 2020

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