The Aging Process

SandyV
SandyV Member Posts: 9
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Have you found that chemo treatment has sped up your aging process? I was 52 when I started chemo and I didn't look 52. I never smoked, sunbathed, etc. so my skin looked youthful. Now my face, neck, arms and hands look like I'm 65 or older. I used to look in the mirror and occassionaly see my mother's face looking back at me. Now I see my grandmother's! I strive to keep my mental and emotional outlook positive and active, but it's tough when I'm still not used to seeing that different reflection in the mirror. I know what I look like shouldn't matter, but oh my it does.

Comments

  • lindatn
    lindatn Member Posts: 229
    #2
    How long has it been since you finished chemo? At first my skin looked terrible then it kind of peeled off like a major body face lift. I am 61, out of chemo a bit over three years. I was visitng with a lady today at a yard sale and we were talking age, she referred to something in the 1960 and then said to me you are to young to remember that, well of course I was married in the early 1960 so sure did remember that, it turned out I was three years older then her. So if it is early since you finished you might be lucky enough to still have your skin peel ahead. In any case being alive is what counts. God Bless Linda
  • Kathy1108
    Kathy1108 Member Posts: 62
    #3
    When I finished my chemo treatments in 10/03 my skin on my face and neck did look like I did aged from the treatments. But now 2 years later my skin on my face and neck look like it did before my treatments. I did put on creams on my face and neck and that seems to have helped. Only thing now is that my face got heavier from all the weight I gained from the medicine Femara that I am on since finishing my treatments. So, hang in there your skin will get better.
    Kathy
  • 24242
    24242 Member Posts: 1,398 Member
    #4
    I have to say that I had trouble seeing myself in the mirror after my hair grew back, since I looked more like my father than myself. I had to start dye job to soften hair and bring me back to someone I could recognize.
    I have to say with the problems I had for years it was more about feeling old than actually seeing OLD in me. There are some days I feel a 100 but those days are getting less and less as time goes on. I have had much pain since my treatments and often saw that etched on my face more than age. Nothing stays the same and aging is a normal part of life so no wonder something like a cancer bout might change things for us. I still feel that the older I get the better I get and it is nice to see that life can have quality and actually be better than it was before.
    Tara

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