Being all Zen and In the Moment

Hey Violet7,

It sounds as though we are on the same schedule...  I begin my chemo on the 3rd as well.  (We'll have to compare notes; you in CA and me in Switzerland!)  

I, too, am rather attached to my hair.  I am six feet tall and have a very small head so having lots of hair has always made me feel more balanced; I can only imagine what I am going to look like bald.  (Mental image?  A pea perched on a totem pole.)  I am, however, planning a "Fizz, Fuzz and Friends" party where my friends will join me with champagne (fizz) for an evening at mine.  My hairdresser is coming to the house to cut my hair short (fuzz) so that I have a chance to do something FUN before it falls out!  

I am completely new to this board, to online support, to cancer and to life post-diagnosis.  But, I am here for you -- and for anyone else -- whom I might be able to help/support/prop up.

Life, eh? 

My son "buzzed" my hair to about 1 inch when it started to fall out.  I was so sad and so was he.  He had to do it because everyone else in the family was sick with a cold except the 2 of us.

I have bleached/peroxided whole head of hair the just highlighted it since I was 12 so I didn't really know what color to expect.  I got ugly steel grey.  But when it was about 1 in I went to my hairdresser and we corrected that color in a flash.  It came back in just as straight as it was before it fell out.  Actually it started coming in while I was still on Taxol.

Happy belated birthday violet7.  I hope you have MANY more.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone

Violet, I think everybody gets the battleship gray for the first inch or so. After that, mine went back to my normal color, which is kind of medium brown with silver sprinkles on top.

Actually, I take that back. One of my 2005 chemo buddies didn't have that yucky gray color, but hers came in pure white. Which is what her true hair color was. She had all white hair by the time she turned 30 and had been coloring it jet black for 20 years. She left it white post-chemo and it's really pretty and chic.

So perhaps people whose hair is pure white might get to skip the pencil-lead gray stage. After that gray, though, I think most people's hair goes back to their regular color.

Keep in mind that ALL the hair on your body is going to fall out. Pubic hair, arm hair, nose hair, etc. Oddly, I kept my brows and lashes until a month after I finished chemo and then they all came out. They grew back really quickly, though.

I noticed that my skin seemed softer without hair, but I got colder! Even a tiny bit of hair on your arms helps hold in your heat. And your missing nose hairs make your nose runny. Ugh.

My husband and I are huge geeks, so we saw the whole process as a giant science experiment. "Great Scott, Holmes! I had no idea I had hair on the tops of my toes...until it was gone." LOL

--CindyMN  

violet7

My hairdresser actually says that I don't have much grey now.  My hair is highlighted and you can see the dark roots.  I think it started coming in darker after about a month of grey.  My hair is normally a medium to dark blonde.

I couldn't avoid colds during chemo.  I got a cold just after Thanksgiving last year and kept it until I had my 3 week chemo break between drugs at Christmas.  I just kept a watch on my temperature, but can't say that I felt bad.  My husband is the one that always brings all the illnesses home!!!  Your head will be cold.  I bought some soft seamless caps to wear at night.  At first I was really self conscious about being bald, but as I got used to it I went without head coverings AT HOME around my close family. My son always rubbed my head.  I asked him if it was for good luck.  If I went out (even to the mailbox) I stuck that wig on my head!!!  My friend who was dx about 6 months after me only wore her wig to church.  She was afraid she would scare the little kids (haha).  I just couldn't bring myself to do that...too vain I guess.

Try to stay out of crowds as much as possible and ALWAYS carry hand sanitizer with you.  I still have it in my purse and car and use it religiously.  Take care and good luck.

My hair has started growing back and I'm still on Taxol with three treatments to go - it's growing back either dark brown or black.  I keep waiting for the gray, but don't see it yet.  It's still buzz cut short so I don't know what will happen, but it's not gray now.   I choose not to wear a wig because it just didn't feel like me, I wear bandana's most of the time and nicer scarves when I dress up to go out. 

I do stay away from large crowds (i.e. football games, weekend shopping and evening movies). I do attend family gatherings, small parties and visit with my cousin and her children often - I don't isolate myself, but play it smart and stay away from sick people.  I do go out during the week when it's less crowded and bring my hand sanitzer with me.  I use it on grocery carts and several times while I'm out.  When I'm dining out I use my hand sanitzer when I read the menu, after reading the menu and right before I'm served my meal.  I also have it in my home for people to use in addition to washing their hands.  So far knock on wood, illness has not been a problem in my home.

I know you'll do fine..............