Hair Hair Hair - Another question

LtotheK

I tried to wear mascara last night.  I'm 13 months out of chemo.  It was pathetic, to say the least.  Forget that!  My eyebrows never came back strong.  I pencil them in every morning, which is really a drag.

marthah

Reason #532 I have short hair:

Well, you see, we were doing these flaming shots, and well...

marjie

Flaming sambucca shots!!!!

LOVE IT!  That would take care of eyelashes and brows to!

carberry

What a riot!  I like the head lice thing,,but they would have sent me home from work...ha ha  maybe would have been to my benefit.  I just told everyone I was "switching teams"  My poor DH wasnt real thrilled with that one.

pejkug3

I had went topless when I took a trip up to see my family (bigger town, not likely I would run into anyone I knew).  I got a compliment at the first place I went into.

Then I got back home, went to the gym and forgot that I had no wig on when I ran to get the kids off the bus.  A guy I have known for a long time came over to the car to talk.  The first words out of his mouth, "Hey, Butch!"  *sigh*  Some people are so inconsiderate!

My onc asked me last week why I was still wearing the "hair prosthesis"...lol  I have to admit,I allowed the the guy I mentioned above to steal my confidence. 

PSU222

pejkug3**  He was just rude.  People have no idea of all the issues we have to endure while on this journey. Every step is difficult.

Lago**  A great big thank you from me!   Your pictures are beautiful.  I am going accessory shopping this weekend.  You have the classiest jewelry. Stunning.

lago

Of course bikenyc looks great… she was gorgeous when she was bald. Hair just adds some texture

kll22  my line for "what's with the hair" was going to be "I shaved my head in support of stopping female genital mutilation in African and middle east" but no one asked. They all just said "I love your short hair. Are you going to keep it short?" BTW the topic of female genital mutilation usually gets people to shut up real fast.

YaYa I love my little pieces of sculpture (jewelry). I don't have any gold or expensive stones. I love different materials and earrings that move.

MamaV I never looked sick to other people on chemo. Even my onc would tell me that I look great. Last time I saw her this spring she said I looked like the picture of health. Make up helps a lot to keep looking good. BTW I thought I aged too.  You can see in my pictures that most of that went away too. As long as I keep dying the hair I don't look my age. Yes it does get better. 

charlottesmama

Hey hair ladies.... I need a shape up! Anyone here use a clipper? What should I buy? Honestly, I want to keep my hair short.

Kazzie61

Hi ladies

I rarely post but I do love reading all your posts, this one in particular - I especially love to see every ones pics:) I log in every day to check on the updates:)

I had to post today & tell you all what a 'friend' said re my hair!

I'm nearly 8 months PFC & was seriously starting to like my hair:) Anyway, I recently joined facebook & have been looking up some old friends. One in particular I was having a conversation with & as the time went on I told her I had breast cancer but was now cancer free. Her reply was 'I'm so glad that hair cut wasn't by choice LMAO'!!! Well, you can only imagine what that's done for my confidence! 2 steps forward 1 step back! LOL. Some people -arrrrrrrrr

Karen x

LuvRVing

We were at dinner tonight and this lady came over to me and said "I had your hairstyle last year" and then hugged me.  It was very sweet of her, and she told me I was brave for going topless. She looked great and it seems was another person who decided to keep the short hair look.

EmmaC

LuvRVing, I love that!

I was going to tell people I standing up against hair abuse....the over dyed, under brushed, dryed out, chemically abused follicles of the world.

LuvRVing

EmmaC - that is a great answer!

achpurple

LuvRVing:  I had one similar experience at a Macy's when the cashier told me something like "I fought that fight and you can win, don't give up."  Can't remember her exact words but it was a moment between us both that only we could feel.  It gave me courage.

Terry71

When I was having my picc line put in I was in tears and the lady doing looked at me and said Im gonna tell you something I never tell patients. I know how your feeling I was in your shoes 20 YEARS ago and here I am today helping you.... You can beat this, you've already made the first step being here :-)  she was wonderful.....

Kay_G

I just got lmphedema and have to keep my arms wrapped.  It is a very unique looking way of being bandaged up.  If you know what it looks like you would reocgnize it on someone.  A young woman maybe about 18 saw me walking the dog and asked if i had lymphedema.  She smiled at me and told me her mother had bc and lymphedema 10 years ago and is doing fine.  It really gave me a warm feeling.  I have also had people stop to talk to me and look at me with pity and that makes me feel sick to my stomach no matter what they say.

mccrimmon324

Kay, I know people mean well but the looks of pity are the worse!!!  I'm 41 and really tired of hearing how young I am to have cancer.  The radiologist and his assistant must have pointed out my age 5 times, he even made it a point to tell me that he was only 2 years older than me.

Kay_G

It was the first time I saw my onc in a couple of months this week,  I haven't been there since I got started with lymphedema,  The look of pity she gave me when she saw my arm all bandaged up really got to me.  She kept telling me how bad she felt for me.  I have never experienced that in the cancer center before.  It's the one place being bald or whatever other cancer problems you have are just ordinary. It just got me upset.

mccrimmon324

Kay I'm sorry, again, people are just trying to be nice but they just don't realize.  I am surprised this was your onc she should have more experience but maybe she wasn't even thinking anything more that it looked painful for you. 

I had to fix my neighbors PC this morning, wore my wig over, got into the house and had a hot flash.  I asked if it would bother her if I took my wig off, of course, she said no.  Her only comment was that I looked like her 84 year old husband. 

Kay_G

LOL!  I hope that didn't hurt your feelings.  I can laugh at comments from kids and older people more easily than others.  I think when people hit about 80, they lose whatever that is that stops you from saying something like that.  And kids don't have it yet.  I have been embarassed by things my kids said when they were younger and also my mother when she got older.

And what a good deed you did to go fix Granny's computer for her!

mccrimmon324

No, not offended at all.  They are very nice people and she was sort of joking, just didn't expect it to come out of her mouth.  They are very computer illiterate people and the fixes are always something very simple and as payment they go beyond what they need to and do our yard work or something over the top. 

Terry71

When my 3 yr old grand daughter realized I had no hair after she did a triple take asked gwamma where is all your hair? I had hair down part my butt,  I told her my hat ate it I almost peed myself when she piped up and said well dont you wear that hat anymore gwamma its not very nice to eat your hair and she got mad at it.... LOL 

mccrimmon324

That's adorable Terry

LtotheK

Also get tired of the "oh you are so young"--actually, a diagnosis at 39 is more and more common.  I'm so sorry about some of these hair comments.  I get it quite a bit, "oh, you looked so hot with your long hair, why did you cut it?"  I don't bother telling people I had BC and went through treatment.  I just take a little satisfaction knowing how embarrassed most of them would be if I shot back that I went through aggressive cancer treatment...

Terry71

I was 39 too when diagnosed June9th, turned 40 july 1st

dawn31337

@LtotheK  I was 48, but still young.  Hell, I'm still young.  I work from home and go to the office literally every 12-18 months for installs.  My boss's boss commented on my short hair last time I was in.  I didn't make my situation public except for my closest co-workers.  I just took off on chemo days.  I am the luckiest girl in the world I was able to do that.  

I just had my second trim last week.  I look exactly like my mother.....she had stage IV and died 24 months later, just as expected.  I am not sure of how I feel seeing her staring right back at me.  I am an only child, and she waited until she was dying until she saw a doctor.  It is a total brain freeze for me.  I feel sorry for her because she was so scared, but I resent her for leaving me alone. What a FU'd disease.

bdavis

I am amazed that so many people don't reaize how many young women are diagnosed... Last week I was walking in the NYC Avon Walk with women who have walked for 10 years and a couple of them made a comment about BC mostly affecting women 45-48 and up and the few cases of younger women (I am paraphrasing)... But I corrected them and told them just how many 35-45 year old women are affected... and sadly there was a woman (survivor) getting a shirt signed by other women and when I asked her what it was for, she told me it was for the family of an 18 year old who had died from BC and her doctors refused to give her a mammo cause there was no way an 18 could have BC... very sad...

dawn31337

Pretty FU'd Betsy.  One in eight of us gets this, and lots of us are young.  I consider mysef young, but I have friends in their 30s going through this BS.  It is never fun.  It is never cute and pink. Props to you for sticking with the cute and fun.

bdavis

Huh? Whats props?

EmmaC

Props is like getting a pat on the back or thumbs up, a "way to go", kind of message.

My nurse who accessed my port told me she had been there and to keep going as I was having my mini meltdown. She then gave me a kiss on the head!

YamahaMama

Dawn, you and I have a lot more in common than motorcycles!    I was also 48 when I was dx'd in February...big 49 coming up in a couple weeks.  Unfortunately, my 45 year old sister received her OWN bc dx this week...  She and I have appointments with the same PS at the same time next week...her for her initial consult, and me for my exchange consult. 

I SO hear you about the mother thing...my mother passed in April '10 from colon cancer.  I had ordered a wig from TLC, and when it came in, I put it on, and it looked exactly like my mom...  I immediately sent it back.  When I ordered one from a local salon after that, I wouldn't TOUCH that same color...it still haunts me to think about it.