NORWICH – Being diagnosed with any type of cancer is always be a bitter pill to swallow, and knowing that a mother and daughter duo from Norwich went to great lengths to lend a hand.

Enter six-year-old Janessa Jackson and mother Jessica of Norwich. Earlier in September, Jessica needed a haircut (a few of them) and decided that she would donate the trimmings to a charity for children who suffer from a medical condition known as alopecia areata.

The condition is typically side-effect – seen in patients under going cancer treatments such as chemotherapy of radiation treatments.

Based upon her past experience with donating her hair for a worthy cause, Jessica vowed to give it another go.

“This is the second time that I have donated to a hair charity,” said Jessica. “I did it for the first time about eight years ago, at that time I donated about ten inches to Locks of Love organization.”

The elder Jackson, who works at the Norwich Family YMCA, chose this time to give her brunette locks to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths organization based on the advice of her hair dresser Courtney Chmielowiec of A Touch of Moore spa in Norwich.

When young Janessa became aware of what her mother was doing, she exercised compassion and a took it upon herself to do the same.

“I explained to (Janessa) that was giving my hair to sick children who couldn’t grow their hair back like we could,” said Jessica “She immediately asked 'Can I do it too?'”

As it turns out Janessa – a first-grader at Gibson Elementary and Donna Frech Dancer – had more to give that her mother.

“We both had really long hair, but she decided she would have hers cut down to shoulder length, and she has no regrets about it,” said Jessica.

According to both jessica and grandmother Denise Bullock, young Janessa fully understood that her would grow back was excited to help.