[jaykay]

Susan - you'll be surprised at how much faster you can get out of the house being hairless. And how much money you will save on shampoo, haircuts/color (if you use color). Your legs (as IrvineFriend says) will never be as smooth. Unfortunately, if you have hair on your face that you bleach/wax/otherwise remove - that stays - go figure :-).

My eyebrows and eyelashes have thinned and I'm hoping my eyebrows stay around since I am hopeless with stencils. The thought of losing my eyebrows bothered me more than losing the hair on my head.

I lost my hair mid-December and I don't go without a fleece cap in my house. I've been cold for months! I'm not a head scarf person and don't go "out" without my wig. That's just me; everyone has to do what they are comfortable with.

I would look into icing your fingers. My last 2 chemos really brought out the "ugh" on my fingernails. Worse part is that a couple of them are separating from the nail bed and I need to be really careful about how I use my hands. I work in the computer industry and am always on a keyboard. Hasn't been easy.

Irvinefriend - what a great post! I'm going to hijack this thread. I finished chemo on March 14th. My worst sessions were 3 and 4. 5 was very mild on the side effects and I was absolutely giddy with the thought I only had one more to go. Number 6 really threw me - was totally exhausted and figure it was from the Neulasta in combo with the chemo. It took me longer than usual to "recover". But I did and it's over. Had my first Herceptin only infusion and actually had a normal weekend.

Everyone told me I was doing really well during chemo - bloodwork was great except for a bump or two (low potassium). When I saw my onc last week, I complained about how my legs hurt and that my "wind" was just not coming back when I worked out, especially on the treadmill. She told me I was anemic from the chemo, NOT to do the treadmill, eat red meat, be patient, rbc takes a while to come back due to bone marrow suppression from the effects of the chemo.

Well, I've been exercising all along, just not at my normal intensity. And patience is not my greatest virtue. So while I don't run (but walk really fast), I can definitely relate to what you wrote above.

Best

Janis