Following the recent announcement by poker pro Thuy Doan, that she is currently receiving treatment for cancer, many of her fellow professionals and colleagues have decided to show solidarity with her by shaving off their own hair.

Thuy Doan was born in Vietnam, and after the war she came to the US as a child with her family. She studied hard in order to reverse the hardships endured by her family, and recently graduated from college, all the time whilst playing poker professionally.

Vietnamese-origin Thuy Doan, a talented poker player in the US.

Thuy Doan has a popular PokerRoad blog, but the news of her illness must have come as a shock to her many friends and readers, who read her blog entry that day entitled, “Yup, I’m Gonna Go Bald.” The blog continued:

“The biopsy results came back … I have an aggressive soft tissue sarcoma in my upper calf. The next step is to get a chest scan to see if the cancer has spread. After that is chemo to shrink the tumor, then surgery. If chemo doesn’t work then amputation is a disturbing possibility. Since my health insurance policy is based in Virginia, I will be going back there soon for treatment.”

Thuy Doan is much loved and respected in the poker community, and since her announcement, has received an incredible amount of support from friends, colleagues and poker forums. So far, at least 19 professional players including Barry Greenstein, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and Joe Sebok, have lent their support to her plight, and shaved off their own locks.

The devotion and sympathy that she has managed to evoke can best be understood by reading an extract from her blog, which highlights her own courageous approach to her situation:

“This is a tough spot but don’t feel bad for me. My life is still great. I have amazing people in it, a profession that I’m passionate about, and the potential for an incredible future. It’s a life worth fighting for and this cancer is just a hurdle. I won’t let it destroy me. I will beat it. Just watch.”

Here is what Thuy Doan wrote on her blog about the "head shaving event":

Twas the night that caused tournament players in day 2 of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic to wonder "Why are there so many bald dudes?"

It started a few weeks ago when Barry Greenstein called and asked me to come to Vegas. He was holding a head shaving as a show of support for my battle against cancer and resulting baldness. It sounded like a fun event, which it was, but I didn't know what to expect. Never did I imagine the incredible turnout, outpouring of love, and level of compassion displayed by everyone there. It was a truly memorable night. A huge thank you goes out to Barry for organizing the event, Phil for letting us use his palace, the barbers from Presidential Shave, everyone who showed up, and all the positive messages in the forums.

It was in Phil Ivey's huge villa and at first I thought it would be 3 people shaving their heads( Eli, Doyle, Barry). The number increased to 7. Then a group of largely Internet players who I've been friends with for years arrived and eventually everyone agreed to shave their heads. In total I believe the count was 17 people, the last one being Johnnie the barber who endured the terror of me trimming his hair. He made it out alive. Overall it was great night filled with delicious shrimp quesadillas, free-flowing drinks, screams of celebration for each person that left the barber's chair, and a spirit of true friendship and comradery.