Former Pats cheerleader battling cancer shaves team logo into head

BOSTON (MyFoxBoston.com) – There are Patriots fans, and then there are PATRIOTS FANS.

Paula McDonald falls into the latter category. The former cheerleader for the team sent FOX 25 a photo of her new hairdo – the Patriots logo shaved into her head.

What makes it incredibly special is that Paula is battling stage IIIc breast cancer. About six weeks ago, she had a double mastectomy and just this week started undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

"Before my hair fell out because of the chemo, I wanted to do something insane," said Paula. "What better way than to support the Patriots!"

Paula said her other purpose of getting her head shaved was to bring awareness to women performing self-exams.

"This year, I found my own lump," said Paula. "I insisted on a biopsy and that is how it was found."

Paula said she had a 6.5 centimeter tumor and the cancer had spread to 18 lymph nodes.

She said her goal through the entire process is to turn something awful into something incredibly positive.

"Something that I learned as a Patriots cheerleader!" she said.

Cox Media Group