I'm not sure if this is the right board to post this on or not but....
Embur102 and I have been in touch privately lately as we both begin our chemo on the same day. A lot of our talks (emails) have been about our hair and it's temporary demise. She did something quite fun with her hair in anticipation of losing it (but that is her story to tell) and it made me (both of us, actually) wonder what other people may have done when faced with hair loss. So here is my hair story:
On July 10 I start chemo. On July 18 I will go see Martino Cartier (already consulted with him and chose my wig), the founder of
www.friendsarebyyourside.com. He will shave my hair off and give me my wig. I have been in touch with him and here is what we plan to do. Martino will cut my hair super short, shave a ribbon in the back of it, and use pink colored hair spray to color it in. (actually, he will let my 7 year old go crazy with the colored hair spray before he shaves it off, and let her help shave it too). Once that is done I will hold a sign above my head that says "The Wrong Bitch" with arrows pointing down for a photo op.
Background: soon after ny diagnosis a friend showed up at my house with some gifts, one of them was a bumper sticker that says "Hey Cancer! You Picked The Wrong Bitch". Since then I have rec'd a box in the mail adressed to "The Wrong Bitch Leah" and it has become a standing joke among my friends.
I figure the picture I take will be a good Facebook profile picture.
And I wonder...did you do anything fun with your hair before it fell out, and if so, what?
It's weird now, what I find humorous. My warped sense of humor has become even more warped lately.
__________________
39 year old wife, mother of one and nurse.
April 20, 2012: Dx Invasive Ductal Carcinoma
April 25, 2012: ER+(5%), PR-, HER2+++
May 10, 2012: BRCA 1,2 Negative
May 23, 2012: MUGA Scan EF 70%
May 31, 2012: B/L Mastectomy. 2/2 nodes removed and CLEAR!! Power Port placed. 2 Drains. 2 Expanders placed
June 5, 2012: Drains OUT! Ahhhh..
June 12, 2012: Final Pathology Report, .8x.3cm tumor. Micromets to 1 node .35mm under cytokeratin staining. Stage 2A. Onc says "you are lucky to have found this early"
July 10, 2012: Started 6 rounds of TCH with weekly H
Sept 5, 2012: MUGA 65%
Sept 20, 2012: CAT scan of brain clear!
Oct 23, 2012: LAST TC! AMEN! Continue Herceptin every three weeks until July 2013.
Nov 19, 2012: Port out!
Dec 5, 2012: Started radiation
Dec. 10, 2012: MUGA 65%
Dec. 13, 2012: Turned 40. BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!
Jan 23, 2013: Last radiation. Told I am NED. Continue Herceptin every three weeks till July 2013.
Jan 29, 2013: Begin 5 years of Tamoxifen.
Feb 28, 2013: CT Scan with Contrast of lungs. 5mm and 4mm nodules of unknown origin. Rescan in 3 months.
Mar 6, 2013: EF 60%
May 8, 2013: Exanders out, implants implanted...abd. lipo and fat moved up. Girls are looking good!
June 3, 2013: CT Scan with Contrast of lungs. Previous nodules gone. New nodules (2mm and 3mm) found. Rescan in 3 months. So sorry I opened this can of worms...
June 11, 2013: EF 60%
June 25, 2013: Last Herceptin. wow...
Aug 20, 2013: Tumor markers within normal limits. Xray to sore left ribs shows no disease or fractures.
Sept 9, 2013: CT of lungs shows no disease. Closing this can of worms and moving on.
Nov 20, 2013: Tumor markers within normal limits. Severe Vit D deficiency, started on prescription Vit. D. Blaming chemo for this.
Feb 2014: Tumor markers within normal limits.
May 2014: Tumor markers within normal limits. Graduated to twice yearly onc appts.
Oct 2014: Tumor markers within normal limits.
May 2015: Tumor markers WNL. Bone density scan fine. Bone scan and xray of ribs shows "something" 4th right rib. Could be healed fracture but if it is healed why does it hurt?
Nov 2015: Tumor markers WNL. Follow up bone scan clear.
Feb 2016: Syncope! WTF? Dizzy too. Brain scan clear, ECHO EF 60%, Halter Monitor shows heart is fine. Viral? I will never know.
June 2016: Tumor markers WNL.
Oct 2016: Stabbing pain right eye. Long story short, trigeminal neuralgia.
Nov 2016 Brain MRI clear.
Jan 2017: Tumor markers WNL, still getting weird pain right rib area, and sometimes right upper chest. Xray x2, Bone Scan, Breast MRI all clear. Scar tissue? Rads. I may never know.
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