It was somewhere between surgery and starting other treatment. ie I had lost my breasts but not my hair. All the literature we'd been given I left lying around the place so the boys could pick it up and thumb through it when they felt ready. After a couple of weeks I had observed that nothing had been lifted, thumbed through or in fact even glanced at (to my knowledge) so it was time to take matters into my own hands. Only 2 of the 3 were there at the time (holidays, very hard to get them all together in one place). It went like this...
Me: "So guys, is there anything you want to ask about what will be happening to me in the next few months? With regard the cancer?'
Boys: Both looked at me questionally. They then looked at each other confusedly. Then both turned to me and, at the same time, said "Well, haven't you had it done already?"
At this point I decided to leave it them to handle in their way! It's probably better than mine anyway!
About 10 days after my first lot of chemotherapy I noticed my hair thinning. The next day lots came out in the shower as I was washing it. After the shower I walked out and, distressed, said to Dan (lying around reading) "My hair is falling out!"
Dan: "Humph. That's OK. So is Dad's and Rob's"
I guess that put it in perspective (at least mine will come back) and destressed me!
We were in New Zealand and it was cold - much colder than I'd experienced here. I woke up one morning and said,
Me: "Boy it's cold! My head was freezing last night!"
Andy: "And you want sympathy from me???"
At this point I figured I was barking up the wrong tree!
One day I swept the kitchen floor and discovered, besides all the crumbs etc, a pile of hair. My hair! At this stage I thought I'd better get my head shaved or else face the O,H&S tribunal!
Saturday morning, decided it was time to have my head shaved. So, wig in hand, I went down to do the deed - walked in a brunette with lighter stripes, 15 minutes later walked out a ranga (well, 'burgundy') with spikes! At home Dan and his friends (which included a couple of girls) wandered in from the beach. Dan asked what I'd been doing all morning (so observant, boys) so I told Him I'd been to the hirdresser for a "cut & colour".
"Looks great" says 16 year old girl.
"Isn't it a wig?" says 16 year old Dan.
"DAN!! That's awful" says 16 year old girls.
"Oh!" says Dan, Sheepishly, "Well isn't it?"
"Does it look like a wig?" says me.
"NOooo" scream 16 year old girls (as only girls can) " It looks fantastic"
"OK then" says me.
Take that Dan!
Watching a show on TV that had a segment about the "Look Good, Feel Great" workshops. A number of women were expressing their distress at hair loss and body image issues etc. Jimmi turns to me and says, "Were you that upset when you lost your hair?"
Me: "No, I don't think so. I knew it was going to happen and I went and had my head shaved. Only thing is, it happened a bit sooner than I thought. Why? Did it upset you?"
Jimmi: "No. Not as much as your eyebrows."
Interesting, I now draw eyebrows on most days!
So, no hair on my head, no eyebrows, no eylashes, sporting a Brazilian (for the first time in my life) and STILL I have to shave my legs! And STILL the hairs on my arm get ripped out every week as they take out the IV canula! GO FIGURE!
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