A doting boyfriend has shaved off his hair and his eyebrows in solidarity with his girlfriend who is currently being treated for cancer.

Áine O'Connell was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma earlier this year and says losing her hair has been a tough experience.

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Her boyfriend, Niall Thompson, thought shedding his own hair might be a special way to make her feel better, while also raising money for the Irish Cancer Society.

"I lost my hair to chemo. It's pretty much all gone, so Niall is doing this to cheer me up about having less hair than my boyfriend, which, as you can probably guess, is pretty grim. I really appreciate that he's doing it," she told Independent.ie.

"It's been really, really tough. Before I lost my hair, it was quite long and, I suppose, it was a big part of my identity."

The Kildare native said she hadn't the nerve to shave it off, so had to watch it fall out in clumps throughout the day.

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"I have just been watching it come out in the shower and on my pillow and on my clothes," Áine (23) said.

Things are now looking up for Áine, as her chemotherapy sessions are soon set to end.

"So I started chemotherapy in May and I have been having that every two weeks, until now."

"So, it's been seven treatments out of eight so far. I'm almost finished and then I'll be in remission and that's very, very exciting."

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Niall (25) said he noticed how hard it was for Áine, but said a sense of humour helps get them through the hard days.

"A friend asked how Aine was doing and I said she'd pick every other symptom over the hair loss, but, from the get-go, we were making jokes about it and trying to keep conversation light," the Laois man said.

"We're the kind of people who would crack jokes about things as opposed to being very serious, so we have been making jokes about me being sick for as long as I have been sick," Áine added.

Watch the video above to see the moment Niall shaved his hair for Áine.

To donate to Áine and Niall's fundraising page for the Irish Cancer Society, click here.

Online Editors