How vain are you?

This dress of Rosemary's is one of my favorites ever

Andrea623 - Bio-Oil made me itch, too!!! And I had such high hopes for it... 

My PS told me the best thing for scars is good genes from your parents. *sigh*

Bobo, That is so cool! Yes, it is definitely worth it to be able to read the plays and all the other stuff. Ancient Greek is a very lively and immediate language. It does not seem ancient and fossilized the way Latin often does (to me anyway).

The Bible is written in Koine (kiní is the modern pronunciation, not koy-ne). Koine is the intermediate language between ancient and modern Greek. If you can read Ancient Greek, you can read the Bible. If you are a native Modern Greek speaker and know a bit of Ancient Greek, you can likewise read the Bible in the original.

Best of luck with it. Check out the links on this page: http://www.komvos.edu.gr/arxaia/arxaia.htm and here: http://www.greek-language.gr/greekLang/index.html

Kay, yes, White Christmas. My favorite Christmas movie.

(Love, you didn't do right by me).

bobogirl -  wow,  you really HAVE been thru it, I had my expanders removed when I kept developing seromas, they were so irritating, my original PS wanted to "install drains" - and I quickly found a new PS, who said " we have to get those OUT OF YOU, they're clearly irritating you" - thank goodness. She is still my hero.  Also, the same PS who removed the implants after almost 6 years, i hated the feeling of them under the pec muscles, AND, tho we didn't know it, one had ruptured.  Just UGH - so wish I had just remained flat.  Now I'm wondering whether to have my "angel ears" removed.

Fascinating to think of someone learning Attic Greek.

Body Oil - I like the Weleeda BABY CREAM.  Calendula ( sp?) cream is very gentle too.  For very very dry, I use melted organic cocoa butter.

vitamin e oil is good too - NOT THE STUFF IN THE BOTTLE sold in cosmetic stores - but the GOOD VITAMIN E oil sold in health food stores.  If you can't find the liquid, you can always buy the Vitamin E capsules, in strongest dosage, and nick or cut the capsule to apply.  Forgot about Vitamin E oil.  It really is supposed to be good for scars.

Well, that would be a real compliment.  Right now I might give myself another name.  Which Greek philosopher has been made half-crazy by physical therapy?  I might have to go with Epictecta, since Epictectus (the Stoic) was, at least, Stoic.   Perhaps I could adopt some of his traits.  But then again, he was incredibly critical of those (men) who pulled out their (body) hair for vanity's sake, and, since I wax, perhaps I don't resemble him enough.

Sunflowers, how about the Vit E oil at Trader Joe?  That's what I was thinking of getting.  Do not want to resort to nicking individual capsules.  I've got quite a regimen going here. X

Bobo, I think I'll be taking a bath & soaping my hair several times tonight to try to strip some of the new haircolor out.

What colors are your hair and highlights?

No, it's permanent but even permanent tones down a lot as it is washed.

chemo curl - what I called my Persian Lamb fur coat hairdo, goes back to more natural hair ( for most women) after that first growth falls out naturally - takes a few months, I used a soft baby shampoo for the first growth, it was very fine. 

I seriously never got chemo curls. I was almost hoping I would, because my hair is like hay and won't hold a curl for anything. It would have been a bit fun, but probably also horrifying, to have a few curls.

I've never had chemo so can't speak to the chemo curl experience but as a naturally curly girl, there are good things to be said of curly hair:)

Re: mascara, I use waterproof formulas that are hypoallergenic. Yes they are a bit more difficult to remove but it does stay put. 

Is there an explanation about how chemo curls happen?

You know, I wondered about this, googled this, and asked my oncologist and found out that, while it is known that it happens, there is no detailed scientific understanding of why chemo curls happen.  

A probable explanation might found be in the cocktail of chemotherapy drugs are given to disable frequently dividing cells (cancer is, after all, all about uncontrolled cellular growth).  But the chemo can't tell the difference between cancerous cells and good cells. As a result other frequently dividing cells, hair, skin, mucous membrane, and nail cells are frequently affected and they behave differently post chemo.  Changes in the thickness and texture and sometimes even the colour may be the result of a change in the DNA of the cell lines that repair themselves after the chemo is stopped.  Once the chemo completely leaves our bodies the cellular reproduction should revert to what it was before chemo.  

Many medications that we take have side effects that are not completely understood.  Sometimes they are so rare as to be dismissed by our health careproviders as being "all in our heads".   Until a critical mass of people taking the drug have reported their experience.  Or someone with a scientific bent decides to explore the physiology.  (That is my theory. The prevailing attitude seems to be: "chemo works to stop cancer, why do you need to understand why.  And stop being SO vain. Its just hair.")  It is not just vanity.  Try being hairless when it is minus 20C, or with a cold or non allergic rhinitis which is a side effect from many drugs, Herceptin to name but a few.  And you LOOK so damned sick.  

On the other hand.  I was waiting for my granddaughter's bus while I was doing chemo and one of the Dads who was also waiting said, "you know Kay, your hair will grow back someday, my male pattern baldness is forever!"  It is not just women who have had chemo who angst over hair loss!  And he was right, it did grow back.