Leanne Wasson loves her husband's 30-year-old beard but his decision to have it shaved off on Saturday at the Buncha Hotel in Dubbo makes her "really proud".
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The "absolutely huge" toll on Mrs Wasson of her sister's death from cancer in 2018 has Paul "Wazza" Wasson ready to be bald and almost clean-shaven.
He will be joined by more than a dozen mates and patrons of the hotel in boosting the 27,500 kilograms of hair already cut or shaved off since the annual World's Greatest Shave was launched 21 years ago.
In 2019 the nationwide event will help the Leukaemia Foundation support the 100,000 Australians currently living with blood cancers.
The Mogriguy couple has lined up the "soldiers" for Saturday's event along with the "shearers", from the Snip-Its salon in Myall Street.
"Any fight against cancer is a good fight," said Mr Wasson when explaining why he chose to support the work of the foundation.
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At the Buncha Hotel this week, Mr Wasson and his wife struggled to contain their emotions when talking of loved ones lost to cancer.
Mrs Wasson said her sister, Cathie Brennan, 51, of Walcha, had battled multiple myeloma for 10 years before her death in August last year.
"She was my best mate in the sense that she actually trained racehorses and we train greyhounds," Ms Wasson said.
"She was the only person I could get on the phone to and have a good old nag about training dogs because she shared that same sort of passion."
Mr Wasson's grief at the loss of his father was stirred up by his sister-in-law's passing.
George Wasson, 56, died about 20 years ago after a long battle with throat cancer.
"All my three children grew up without their pop," Paul Wasson said.
He said the pain of losing his father, with whom he shared the love of a "beer and a punt", still made him sad.
"So this year at the age of 51 I'm standing up and trying to make a difference," the owner of Out & About Electrical said.
"If it goes well we will make it an annual event."
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Australians taking part in the World's Greatest Shave will shave, cut or colour from March 13 to 17.
The event at the Buncha Hotel will kick off about 3pm and include raffles, an auction in the evening, live music by Duncan Ferguson and a hearty supply of barbecued sausages and hot dogs.
Mr Wasson hopes to bank more than $4000, with $2000 already raised from raffles at the hotel and the Dubbo greyhound track.
The encounter with the scissors and clippers is a "big step" for the man with a big heart whose wife long ago told him in jest "shave it off and I'll leave you".
But Mrs Wasson has changed her tune.
"He's put so much time and effort into the fundraising," she said. "I'm really proud of him."