Ok, so...it might be kind of strange to get excited about underarm hair, but I was. I noticed it in the shower and I announced it to my family when I got out. See, I haven't had any hair there in quite a while. One good side effect of my chemo is that I hadn't had to shave under my arms or my legs in several weeks. But, it's coming back. Not too much yet, but it IS coming back.
That last round of chemo I had did a number on my hair, all over! The hair on my head got really, really thin and I ended up cutting it much shorter. It's growing back now too. I've been wearing more hats lately at times and I honestly don't know which is worse: having super thin hair and having people looking at it or wearing a hat to cover it. It doesn't necessarily bother me for people to look.
It's just that I feel like I need to be wearing a sign explaining why my hair looks so pitiful so people will know I don't usually go around with it like that :-)
Wearing hats doesn't really bother me either and it's something I do in the summertime quite a bit anyway. But it seems to bring attention and that pitiful look you get when people can tell you've been fighting cancer.
I have missed my eyebrows and eyelashes. (Yes, they go too!) They are growing back as well, which makes the eyes very itchy!!! I've been drawing my eyebrows on but there's not much I can do about the lashes except wear falsies and no thank you! And hey, if you've got to draw your brows on, then you may as well give them a good arch!
I started radiation a couple weeks ago. That has been a bit of an inconvenience because I have to drive about 45 minutes one way to get there and then the radiation doesn't last but about 20 minutes, in and out. So far, it hasn't bothered me too bad. I started week 3 today. I never knew it but when you take radiation they have to draw all over you and use these very sticky stickers and even permanent tattoos (just tiny dots) to help line you up and aim the radiation at the right spot each time.
With radiation, like chemo, you tend to meet the same people lots of days because you're on the same schedule. I've gotten the chance to meet some very nice people and hear some of their stories.
A gentleman I sat next to the other day was eating peanuts. He offered me some and we started up a conversation. Turns out he is 80 years old and has had prostate cancer for a while, and they just recently told him he has lung cancer. He's getting his treatments but he told me he just didn't believe he had it because he doesn't FEEL sick.
I asked him if they had told him that he was supposed to feel sick and they hadn't. There are so many emotions that go along with having cancer. Denial is one of the first.
It's funny, before you find out you have it and you hear of others having it, it seems like the worst thing in the world. You feel so sorry for the people you hear who have it and you just can't fathom yourself having it. As I've said before, it's the diagnosis noone wants to hear.
But, I can tell you, there are people fighting it off and doing a great job of it! There are people who are pressing on through their treatments and carrying on with their life after treatment. I see it all the time. I know there are a lot of people who pass from it daily too. Don't get me wrong, I know how serious and life-threatening it is.
But, if you are told you have cancer or someone you know has it, don't assume it's a death sentence. Don't bow your head in defeat and think your time is up. It may be. It happens. But, please don't think that just because you've got cancer, you're going to die. People are fighting it and they are living to tell about it!
I know, because I'm one of them!
