They say good friends are hard to come by but teenager Jade Dowie knows she has one in Jasmine Doyle.
The 16-year-olds formed a bond at the age of three and when Jade was recently diagnosed with leukaemia Jasmine showed her support by shaving her hair off.
Jasmine and a group of Jade’s others friends have held fundraising concerts to repay charities who have supported the Glenrothes High School pupil and her family.
They have also made sure Jade, of Glenrothes, has kept up with the gossip by visiting her regularly after school.
And some of her pals have followed in Jasmine’s footsteps and also braved the clippers to show solidarity with Jade.
Jade’s mum Amanda Rennie said: “What they done is absolutely fantastic .
“Jasmine is a cracking girl. She and Jade have been friends since nursery and were in the same class all through primary school and the first couple of years of high school.
“She has been a real comfort to Jade.”
Jade and Jasmine’s first teacher in P1 was the grandmother of baby Oliver Gill, who died in 2010 and was the inspiration for the LoveOliver charity which supports families of children with cancer.
Jasmine’s head shave raised £600 for LoveOliver and the Victoria Hospice and she donated her long tresses to the Little Princess Trust which makes wigs for children.
Concerts organised by Jade’s group of friends have raised £1,400 for the Teenage Cancer Trust and £1,500 for CLIC Sargent.
Amanda and some of her friends plan to do a long distance run when Jade is better to raise more cash for LoveOliver.
Jade, who is awaiting a bone marrow transplant, was diagnosed with leukaemia last September after failing to recover fully from a virus.
Amanda said: “It became apparent there was something not right and I thought she might be anaemic. It turned out she was anaemic but it was because of leukaemia.”
Initially Jade failed to respond to treatment and Amanda and Jade’s father Martin feared the worst.
Amanda said: “It was bad enough to be told she had leukaemia but then to be told she was not responding was just awful.”
However, a change in her chemotherapy regimen saw her prognosis improve and now on a trial of antibody treatment Jade is feeling better than she has for some time.
Amanda said: “Since December we feel we have turned a corner and are going the right way.”
She is proud of the way her daughter has dealt with her diagnosis.
She said: “To start with Jade was reluctant even to go to the doctor for a blood test but by the end of the first week she was taking everything in her stride.
“She has coped with it better than I would.”
Having good friends has lightened the dark days.
Amanda said: “It does make a difference. Jasmine and a few other girls come in after school and keep her up-to-date with what’s happening at school so she still feels part of things.
“She’s only been in school three or four days since September.”
