One woman's account of her hair loss post chemo

[Paula O]

“If God sends us stony paths, He provides strong shoes.” — Corrie ten Boom
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Excerpt below is from He Provides the Shoes, Walking with God through Breast Cancer By Karen Holmes

http://www.breastcancerandfaith.com/book_excerpts.htm

“As expected, but nonetheless extremely emotionally upsetting, shortly after my first dose of chemotherapy, my shoulder-length thick curly hair began to fall out in small clumps. The entry below describes my feelings surrounding my own head-shaving ordeal, an act meticulously performed by my lovely beautician (p. 50):
“Then I heard her click it on and the telltale buzzing sound began. I had the crazy thought that it was like some great mutant insect descending on my head intent on destroying my hair like some biblical plague. I clenched my teeth to shore up my resolve, and then I forced myself to open my eyes and watch with a sort of fascinated horror as the shaving of my head commenced. When it was over I felt as if I’d been through a rite of passage: ‘Your head has been shaved! You’ve now entered the Land of Cancer. Please exit to your left.’”

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I too had my hair buzz cut. My 14-yr-old daughter at the time volunteered to do it for me. We brought the clippers along with us on vacation and my family and I laughed and cried through that experience together. It was empowering to take control of the copious shedding of hair when so many things seemed out of control because of the cancer.

It was a good decision for me to "let go" of the hating being bald part (and I sure did find that part hard) and embrace deciding to choose to have fun with experimenting with being a woman of many looks with wigs, scarves, and fun hats.

What was/is your hair loss experience like for you guys?



Paula