It was a text message that changed the lives of four women.

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this but it's all going to be OK," Arlene Barlin texted her eldest daughter, Chloe Daniels, from Los Angeles where she was living part-time. That was late August. The mother of three had just been diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.

Chloe, who was in New York at the time, immediately flew to Los Angeles to be with Arlene. Sister Aliya flew in from South Africa. Mica, the youngest, remained in Toronto to hold down the fort. That very day, the girls - 23, 20 and 17 - decided they would support their mother by cutting their hair and donating it to Wigs for Kids.

"We thought: is she going to lose her hair?" Chloe recalls. "That resonated with us because long hair is a prestige of the family. The Daniels girls are known for our long hair."

Arlene, who has since shaved her head, underwent surgery in Los Angeles and is now receiving chemotherapy at Sunnybrook. "It is pretty rough," she says. "Nothing can really prepare you for it."

On Oct. 16, the three sisters each cut 12-14 inches of their hair (Aliya participated via Skype) to raise money for Sunnybrook's new Louise Temerty Breast Cancer Centre and the hospital's breast cancer program for young women, PYNK. They set a goal of $5,000, but have already raised more than $16,000.

"It's been wild. We are blown away by the generosity of people who participated in the campaign," Chloe says. "Our intention was to keep it small. It was personal, it was from the heart. We really tried to stay positive."

Despite the emotional process, Chloe says it just felt right. "The point is we can all grow it back together with mom," she says.