SYRACUSE -- Very few wispy bits of soft hair remain on Alec Unsicker's head, so he knew what he was talking about when he gave friend Tyce Petterson some advice.
Tyce had just had his head shaved along with four other children at his Buffalo Point Elementary School when Alec said, "You are going to be really cold."
Alec also helped shave the principal's head as students gathered recently to support Alec and Tyce, both of whom are 11.
This spring, Alec, the son of Sundee and Brad Unsicker, began vomiting and having headaches. An MRI showed Alec had a medulloblastoma, a cancerous brain tumor.
Since the tumor was removed May 4, he has battled through chemotherapy treatments, which are scheduled to continue for several months.
"He was vomiting a lot because the tumor on his brain was causing pressure," said his mom. "He has a long way to go."
Because of his sickness, Alec has not been able to attend school and has lost his hair.
He does his schoolwork at home with the help of a webcam and Skype, which allows users to make calls over the Internet.
His teacher, Stacey Peterson, visits him, and students in her class often work as partners.
Tyce is Alec's partner through Skype, so Tyce sees and understands the loss of his friend's hair.
Several weeks ago, Tyce, the son of Ryan and Sara Petterson, began having excruciating headaches as well as double vision.
Tests determined he had a cyst on his brain; soon he was off to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City to undergo a craniotomy the day after Alec had shaved his head.
"He doesn't come to school very often," Sundee said of her son. "I have never heard of a principal being so kind."
It wasn't difficult for Principal Richard Baird to let students shave his head.
"They asked me and I thought, 'I'm willing to do that,' " Baird said as he watched boys show support for their friends by having their heads shaved, too.
Alec said he likes to Skype.
"It is pretty good, but I would rather go to school. I miss the activities and stuff."
Because of the Web classes, Tyce already had a friendship with Alec, Peterson said. Now the two boys will have more in common.
"Staying home would be so boring," said Tyce, who may also have to stay at home for a while.
Pointing to Alec's head, he said, "I am going to get some scars like he has."
Four classmates also volunteered to have their heads shaved in support of their friends. Along with helping to shave their principal's head, Alec and Tyce took turns shaving classmates Alex Moore, Jaden Holt, Cohen Czech and Trey Oliver.
"I don't like being bald. It feels funny," Tyce said.
"That's why there's hats," Alec said.
Cohen's mom helped to plan the event, which took place the day before school let out for Christmas vacation.
Tyce wasn't too pleased with missing the last day of school to have surgery, but it wasn't the surgery that concerned him -- he missed pizza that last day.
Tyce said he will be happy to get rid of what he calls "really big headaches."
"They are different than headaches I normally have," he said.
Alec knows the kind of headaches his friend is talking about.
"I think I felt the headaches you had. They are really bad."
Tyce was already wearing his hospital identification bracelet the day before his surgery.
Alec also had his surgery done at Primary Children's, so the two boys talked about the TV shows they can watch and video games they can play at the hospital.
"My mom calls it the Disneyland of hospitals," Alec said.
"I can ride in a wheelchair whenever I want," Tyce said.
Alec feels good about his prognosis.
He said the surgery removed the entire tumor seen by the doctors and the chemo should take care of any that may have been left behind.
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