Physical aging appearance

Clyn, I never spent big bucks on my "treats", either.   A new lipstick or nail polish made me feel happy and pretty.

When I went to Look Good Feel Better I noticed when I got home...probably 75% of the cosmetics had parabens and phthylates in them. So disappointed.....I gave them away:(     Learned some great makeup tricks and even scarf wearing for the bald days.

Sherrill- love the Pandora idea. Going to try to work that in to some type of reward for me. Maybe every 5 lbs lost, or something like that.

Joni

SAS,  Is there an old girl on Star Trek....actually the hair is going, but not all that fast, maybe it will just get thin like one of the women on the halaven thread's did.  I went to the nail site....yep, that is exactly what mine looked like...didn't get the lines, but they certainly did get yellow like that and they lifted up and would ooze...both hands and feet, but the toenails are the ones that have still not recovered and it's been almost two years now.They still look dry and brittle , but are now white. The big toenails are the worse and I do not think they will ever go back to looking normal.  My thumbnails have about 1/8 of an inch to go.  One thing I will say, these nails are strong, hard as a rock and difficult to trim

At this stage of the game, I do not care about Parabens and phthylates.  I only use certain things anyway, but do not look at ingredients.  Like Clinique Al about Eyes and their repairwear and tinted moisturizer and I like my Channel lipstick for when and if I wear any at all, and eye makeup, well, I just go for texture and color more with it than a brand.  I plan on sharing the free stuff I get tomorrow with my friends.  Yesterday I went to a breast cancer program where Marisa Weiss, founder of BC.org  spoke along with some other oncologists and researchers, and if you stayed away from all the things that are bad for you, we would not be living in my opinion. 

They say you can't microwave things in plastic, have to be careful what sort of plastic waterbottle you have, all sorts of bad things out there.

 However, I am going to end the love affair I have been having with food for the last few months...fast food has become my best friend and I think it is time to go back to WW since summer is approaching.....however, that sleeveless top I was so excited about buying is going back.  

Have a beautiful day, beautiful women. 

Marybe-  I certainly hated the way I looked bald.  I would scare myself when I walked by a mirror.  I kept wondering who that old man was!  Anyway I have a theory about looks and baldness.  I never wore much makeup pre BC.  But now I do wear foundation and eyeliner and mascara.  When I really emphasize my eyes people tell me I look great.  I am convinced that a bald head with made up eyes is the way to go !

As you can see from my avatar my hair has returned.  But still get compliments on my looks with the eyeliner on.

I have had OVCA stage 4 and BC two times (2006-2008)with bilateral masc.

I do look a lot older than I did 8 yrs ago, (dx2003 with ovca)but I am 61. I do hate the aging but try to accept it.

One comment/question. Do any of you think stress can cause or attribute to recurrance??. My husband and I wanted to take a very high stress couples job(wokring as managers in retirement facility) 48-60 hrs a week and live in-house. the training made me fearful that I would recur?? so we did not finish and are home now.

any comments are appreciated.

bestock, I do think there's something to the stress connection, at least for some of us.  Not that stress per se causes bc, but that chemicals like adrenaline that are dumped into our systems when we're under stress upset our natural hormone/chemical balance and wreak havoc with our immune systems.  I agree with Barbe that stress like ordinary job stress or just too much to do is a natural part of living for most of us, but I think it's David Servan-Schreiber (author of Anti-Cancer, A New Way Of Life) who suggests that it's the kind of stress over which we have no control that's the most harmful.    

Something I've noticed since bc tx, is that even though I don't sweat a lot of the small stuff as much, my frustration tolerance level with complex things that seem to be beyond my control is very low, and I'm more easily stressed over certain situations that would not have stressed me in the past -- if that makes sense.  

It sounds like your gut was wisely saying "no" to that job opportunity, perhaps partly because your housing would have been tied into the deal, so if you weren't happy there, you might have been inclined to feel stuck in the situation.    Deanna

Yoga is good for stress!!

There was something in the news that reported that Yoga was better than plain stretching. It was just in the last few days, Can't remember where though----------google it.

MD Anderson Cancer Center has just been given a huge grant to study the healing effects of yoga on BC patients recovering from surgery.  Thought that was interesting. I did yoga before and after my surgery and through rads treatment.  When the RO did my CT scan for my boost they could no longer see my seroma.  It had completely healed. That was 3 1/2 months post surgery

Fearless -- So sorry that happened to you.  It's amazing how hair color can make such a difference. I had 2 ideas when I saw your problem.  Unless the medium brown is just the wrong choice (like too warm or cool) for your skin tone, I'm wondering if you or a stylist could add a lot of highlights, so that the darker shade becomes just a base color. Otherwise, maybe ask at a beauty supply store if there's something that will take out the type of color you used.      Deanna

Get thee to a beautican!

Fearless One,

I have done that before. I went to a salon years ago and asked for dark hair (I'm a natural light brown/honeyblonde) and left the salon feeling terrible! Just keep washing, and I am sure a little bit of vinegar rinse at the end of each shampoo will probably pull the color shade down a notch.  Sorry to hear, but you will look beautiful when it tones down. Don't worry! Nothing in this life is permanent!!! 

{{{{{{{{{{{ Marybe }}}}}}}}}}}}}}

Yes!   It does seem more porous since chemo.   I will try the vinegar rinses like Marianna suggested, I think it will fade.   Thank God I didn't use permanent.    I can always add highlights if I have to, to take away from the harshness of the color.

Ok, it's fading a bit....went from a dark, inky brown to a medium ash brown.   It's a more normal color now, but I still need something to brighten me up.   I don't want to be a blonde, but maybe just some highlights.  

Anyone try that Loreal colour experte kit?