Hair Loss

Feelingalone74 said:

DebiR, I admire that you took

DebiR, I admire that you took a different approach to losing your hair and made it a celebration.  It shows your strength and courage. 

I'm also so happy for you that your almost 5 years out!

Its reassuring to hear that hair regrowth happens an d that it can look nicer than your original  hair.

Were u able to order the wig from your cancer center prior to loosing your hair?

Thank you for sharing 

God bless

I just went there and they had tons of wigs for free to chose from.  I found one that looked so much like my own hair that no one even knew it was a wig.  Maybe I just got lucky, maybe it was meant to be.  I stopped there on my way to get my head shaved and wore that wig home. 

I went through chemo during the Ohio summer (it can get hot, probably not like the south, south west though) and it never bothered me.  I don't know what it was made of but it was light and airy.  I wore it though the winter too as my last chemo was end of October and have to share a funny/embarassing story.  I had to go to a workshop for work at Seven Spring Resort in PA in January.  I  didn't want to go as I was still feeling the effects of the chemo and not at my usual engery self but off I went.  I was in the meeting room and pulled off my scarf around my neck and off popped my wig.  Oh boy....I just quickly walked out of the room, put it back on and hoped no one saw me (most were busy talking).  The room was all men....no one mentioned anything.  HaHa.  

Debi

OThe only person who saw me without my “hair“ was my sweet husband.  I didn’t want anyone to see me looking sick, either.  I always wore a hat in the house and would put my wig on if someone came.  It’s a personal choice.  I bought two wigs, had them cut by my hairdresse, they each looked very much like my own hair.  Most people were shocked that I was wearing a wig, they thought the type of chemo I received was the kind that didn’t cause hairloss.

As for as telling your son, you just have to do it.  We had a family meeting with our son, wife and 2 grandsons.  They handled it as well as you would expect.  After some crying and hugging, we just went on with it.  Your son will be there for you and you will be there for him.  At least, that’s how my family was.  You will figure out your way 

Linda

hi Linda yes you're right I'm just going to have to tell him but I'm so scared as he and I are so close. He also has high anxiety and stresses over even the little things so I can only imagine how this will effect him. 

I'm meeting with a social worker later this week so I'm hoping she can give me guidance.  Just so hard because I have so many uncertainties so I won't be able to answer much of his questions.  I have a few more tests to do b4 my treatment begins later this month. As much as I'm scared of treatment I just want it done.

Holding this all in has been hard for sure . In trying to wait until my son returns from his vacation to tell him as I want him to enjoy his time at the ocean.

Being a mom is really hard when u have to be brave.

debsue420 said:

Staying positive

Thanks everyone for the support. Will be a survivor & will think about the head tattoo. Keep the faith.

DebSue420, I'm diagnosed with Stage 3 endometrial cancer but as far as O know I will be treated with the same chemo therapy as u. I know everyone's body responds differently but much doctor says I won't get sick a d if I do they'll give me med for that. Do u mind sharing your experiences with the side effects?

Hope you're feeling well!

Feelingalone74 said:

Thank you so much to all u

Thank you so much to all u beautiful ladies who have reached out to me. Im grateful for u all.

Wishing u all good health and a Happy 4th of July!

Just know you aren't alone and most of us on this board have been through chemo so it is doable.  Think of the chemo as your friend helping to kill any cancer cells that are lurking around. I know there is a lot of emotions and feelings that go along with this diagnosis so find what works for you...family, friends, counselor, pastor to help. Having a supportive and loving family and friends is so important in helping us to deal with the cancer. I remember initially when I was diagnosed I would feel like I had a big 'C' on me but now I am used to the idea that I am living with cancer and so thankful that we are in the 'golden age' of cancer care where new treatments are being discovered. 

Yes losing your hair, eyebrows and eyelashes isn't something I would wish on anyone but it is temporary and thank goodness the wigs available do make us look 'normal'. I know in my case I only wore the wig a couple of times and used my scarves instead. I had scarves in all different colors to match whatever I was wearing. 

So sending you love and hugs. Hang in there, take one day at a time and you also have a happy 4th! xo 

Lulu7582 said:

Hang in there

Just know you aren't alone and most of us on this board have been through chemo so it is doable.  Think of the chemo as your friend helping to kill any cancer cells that are lurking around. I know there is a lot of emotions and feelings that go along with this diagnosis so find what works for you...family, friends, counselor, pastor to help. Having a supportive and loving family and friends is so important in helping us to deal with the cancer. I remember initially when I was diagnosed I would feel like I had a big 'C' on me but now I am used to the idea that I am living with cancer and so thankful that we are in the 'golden age' of cancer care where new treatments are being discovered. 

Yes losing your hair, eyebrows and eyelashes isn't something I would wish on anyone but it is temporary and thank goodness the wigs available do make us look 'normal'. I know in my case I only wore the wig a couple of times and used my scarves instead. I had scarves in all different colors to match whatever I was wearing. 

So sending you love and hugs. Hang in there, take one day at a time and you also have a happy 4th! xo 

Thanks so much Lulu 7582 for your encouragement.  

I'm happy to say I had the wonderful slap of July celebration with about 25 of us at our local Lake . It was great to be surrounded by family and friends!  I hope you had a wonderful day as well!

Back in 1997 when I was 57, teaching high school and not sure how to handle the loss of my hair as i was getting the big guns chemo and  bald was going to be in my very near future.  So, I went to a hair specialist in Atlanta who was very big with cancer patients and he fitted me with a beautiful wig with a guarantee he would take back if not happy. I then went to my local barbershop and had him shave my head. Just so happened my 4 year old grandson was visiting that night and when they arrived, I walked out to greet them in my lovely wig. My grandson looked long and hard at me and then he asked," Gma, why is your hair on backwards?". Needless to say, I returned that wig and settled for hats and scarfs. Out of the mouths of babes!  So, no wig for me. Hugs, all.

Lulu7582 said:

Hang in there

Just know you aren't alone and most of us on this board have been through chemo so it is doable.  Think of the chemo as your friend helping to kill any cancer cells that are lurking around. I know there is a lot of emotions and feelings that go along with this diagnosis so find what works for you...family, friends, counselor, pastor to help. Having a supportive and loving family and friends is so important in helping us to deal with the cancer. I remember initially when I was diagnosed I would feel like I had a big 'C' on me but now I am used to the idea that I am living with cancer and so thankful that we are in the 'golden age' of cancer care where new treatments are being discovered. 

Yes losing your hair, eyebrows and eyelashes isn't something I would wish on anyone but it is temporary and thank goodness the wigs available do make us look 'normal'. I know in my case I only wore the wig a couple of times and used my scarves instead. I had scarves in all different colors to match whatever I was wearing. 

So sending you love and hugs. Hang in there, take one day at a time and you also have a happy 4th! xo 

Thank you for the encouragement for the Lulu7582! I think you're right that I do need you think of the chemo as my friend. I just need to wrap my head around that as I will begin treat presently in a week. While I am scared to begin treatment as I don't know how my body will react I also will be relieved to be getting the treatments finally to get this out of my body so I can recover and get better. It's just all the uncertainty that had my mind boggled.

Yes I too am glad that were living at a time or new treatment is being discovered.

I'm happy to say that I did have a nice Fourth of July surrounded by many family and friends picnic at a lake. I hope that you had a wonderful as well. Thank you for sending love and hugs and I send them right back to you!

Dearest Feelingalone, because children and teens are so honest, you will be delightfully surprised at how they will lift you up. I, as my daughter says, tell everything - nothing held back. So I told my students that I had cancer but was doing fine. They had better bring coats to class as I was leaving the window open by my desk to keep down germs. I also had a Q&A time when they could ask me anything about the cancer. One girl's mom was also going through cancer treatment and she would not talk to her daughter about it. Another student said," I can't believe cancer was brave enough to go after you!".

My grandson loved to run cream on my bald head and laughed when he found a "horn". I joked with folks about NO BAD HAIR days and soon everyone was OK with telling bad hair jokes. I started a cancer support group for any cancer and learned more about prostate cancer than I wanted to know. One of the reasons was men seem to find it hard to talk but could with someone else in treatment. So, just laugh and smile with your little ones and they will love you even more. I was tempted to have a friend paint eyes on the back of my head and go to school that way. My principal thought that was a little too much. My hats were wild enough.  

I'm kind of a board stalker lol.  Don't talk much/post much but I read a lot lol.  I literally have 4 wigs.  Different lengths and colors etc.  When I first lost my hair it was 2 weeks to the day after my first treatment of carbo/taxol.  After that, I wore one of them that was closest to my natural color and just shorter so it looked like a hair cut,  most of my coworkers assumed that I had a haircut.  Once my frontline chemo was done, my hair started growing back and quickly.  However, after following my gyn/onc's advice, I started maintenance chemo of taxol only in May... and two weeks to the day after that first treatment, my hair started falling out again.  So, I actually switch them up now.  But I always had pin straight hair and when it started growing back, it had a bit of wave to it - I even had a bit of a cowlick forming hahaha!

Losing my lashes was annoying, but not that big of a deal to me.  My eyebrows were the worst.  But thanks to MAC makeup - I just drew them on with some powder.  Most people didn't notice (including my family!) until I pointed out that it was just makeup and that my actual eyebrows were gone.

About the 22 year old... I don't have kids, however my nieces and nephews are like my own.  22, 14 and 11.  Honestly, they all toook it more in stride than my sister (their mother) did.  My 22 year old neice is super supportive and is so encouraging.  The 14 and 11 year olds tell me that I don't look like the people on TV haha.  Anyhow, welcome again