Jewish Warrior Sisters
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{{{{{{{{{{{{{Rachel}}}}}}}}}}}}}
A gentle hug to you across the country....I hope the week gets better every day.
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Rachel, thinking of you and praying that it gets easier. Hope all is well for everyone else. Check out the September 2011 thread for details of Aredia infusion #1. I am feeling very optimistic and pray that all of you are having a peaceful Chanukah. Caryn
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Gosh, I must have Arimidex/Aredia brain. Just realized I posted a bit of my infusion experience yesterday. I'll blame It on the slight flu like feelings and body aches I have today. Caryn
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Caryn - Always good to hear from you! Just read your other post, and I'm glad things are going well overall. Your attitude is great. We all hit our down days and periods during this ongoing battle, so it's good to be able to see people able to come back swinging. Hopefully my current slump will pass and I can get back on the offensive real soon. All the best for a happy Chanukah.
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((((((((((((((((((((Rachel))))))))))))))))
Hope you are feeling better today.....we're here for you.....
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Happy Hanukkah to all the Jewish sisters that celebrate. May you find peace and happiness with family and friends. Hugs Eileen
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Does everyone here know the custom that while the Chanuka candles are burning, women are not permitted to do any work? I may not be the most observant Jew, but this is a custom that I hold fast to, and make the effort to share with all my women friends, Jewish or not.
Hugs and healing to you Rachel, and everyone else here. Let there be light in all our hearts and lives.
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Interesting.... I lit mine late, and then promptly sat down at the computer to do work. I'll have to remember that!
Tonight was much better. I'm at my boyfriend's, and just having some company was reassuring. And today was a good day overall. Thanks for all the support.
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We lit late too. My daughter, the younger one, was most unhappy. I can definitely see her becoming far more observant than I am. Caryn
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Happy Shabbat Chanukah...I'm in Toronto at my kids....they lit the Chanukiah when SIL got home...close to 7..it was weird me not lighting one...I share one at home with DH and the kids each have their own....I light the Chanukiah at my parents....wonder if they are lighting now that I'm gone...I brought a small one with me..plus candles....Karen
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HI Karen....welcome to Toronto. What part of town are you in?
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hrf....DD lives on Bathurst near the 401....where are you? I'm here til Sunday afternoon...
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Hi Karen I grew up in that area - it's a lovely area for young families and has only continued to get better. I'm in the Bathurst/Eglinton area ... just a little (5 - 10 minutes) south of you. Beautiful sunny day today but cold. My son is a huge Denver Bronco fan. Every year he goes to Denver to watch a football game.
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"Let there be light in all our hearts and lives."
I couldn't say that better than Orangemat, so I'm borrowing it!
We light candles the moment we get everyone in the same place each evening. This year we are lighting only one Chanukiah, and my DD does the honors. I consider this acceptable in light of my girlfriend's habit of celebrating with her family in January...by her standard I'm right on time!
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Happy last nigth of Chanukah...will wait till DS gets home from work to light the Chanukiah.....
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We had 50+ people at my house for an extended family Chanukah party yesterday. Being the day after Christmas and a legal holiday to boot, we figured those families who honored both holidays (i.e. have married out) wouldn't have any conflicts with attending yesterday. And all it turned out beautifully! The menu (all catered, of course) was primarily Mediterranean, because that's the food I always preferred, from my mother's Sephardic side. Falafel and various wraps from a local kosher restaurant that specializes in that sort of food. The latkes were bought from Costco. This was really a class act, ha!
Anyway, as all of us gathered to light the candles, I looked over at the crowd and marveled at how everyone was really happy to be here and participate, regardless of how their individual family paths have led them. Family unites us, above all. It was really a wonderful day.
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That's a great photo. It looks like everyone had a great time. I'm so happy it worked out for you.
I had to opt out of the family gathering because my nephew is sick (again) and I was told I shouldn't be there given my recent ER trips and white blood count levels. I was disappointed, as I had rebounded, but I wasn't going to argue.
I figure Passover will come about one week after my last treatment. Hoping I'm shifting into full recovery mode by then so I can enjoy the holiday!
Enjoy the last night of Chanukah.
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Hi ladies. Thought I'd check in and bump this thread up in time for Shabbat. My hair is in the process of departing, so I will be looking pretty frum for the next few months. I actually like the scarves and wig I got. I know it will be emotional, but at least I think I'm taking a positive approach.
Shabbat Shalom.
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Rachel, I hope your SEs from the chemo are mild. The hair loss is really hard. Our hair is tied up in our identity, our femininity, and our sexuality. Even though I cover my hair it was really hard. No one - and that includes my DH - ever saw my head when it was bald. I didn't shave my head since to me it felt almost like giving up - I could accept it when it came but I didn't do it to myself. The one advantage that covering my hair gave me was that i never had the"surprise in the mirror" to deal with - you know, like when you get a new haircut and are surprised whenever you catch yourself in a mirror. It also gave me privacy, in a way, since I looked the same (well, if I wore makeup to cover the eyebrow and eyelash loss) so if I didn't want aquaintances to know about the cancer/chemo then they didn't.
Rachel, your attitude is great. It will help you get through this. But if you need to cry about it, then cry.
Shabbat Shalom. Sending love.
Leah
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Because I was in the hospital and didn't have my tichel party back in late Oct., my goodies were just brought to me at Chanukah. Although not on chemo, I enjoying the hats and scarves. Similar to you Rachel, my dd calls them my "frummy" hats. She wears them too! Hope you are feeling well otherwise .
Caryn0 -
Happy secular new year! Love you girls!
Eema0 -
Good health and happiness in 2012 Jewish warrior sisters.
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Wishing everyone good health, prosperity and good friends in 2012.
When I was going through Tx, I didn't cover my hair all the time (I do now)....I go a wig and hated it...it was a shade lighter than my hair and straight, so when I looked in the mirror, I didn't see me....my hair was very wavy and coase prior to chemo...it is now grayer and not as thick or quite as wavy.....I wore my wig about a dozen times including shul and work...then my DH got me a ball cap from the cheers bar and I put teh wif on the foam head in my closet and only wore hats......A friend teased me in the wig...he called me "rebbetzin"...I never told him it bothered me...and another friend from shul didn't recognize me in the wig.....so for me the wig was only a reminder of being bald.....its funny because when my DD#1 got married 2+ years ago, I borrowed a friend's sheitel for the wedding and loved it....and I have toyed around with the idea of wearing a sheitel, but always stick with hats....the friend's sheitel was wavy and looked more like me....Rachel...hope your are doing well inbetween chemo Tx...lovely pic of your party....Well....still about an hour to go before its 2012 in Colorado....Hugs to all....Karen
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rachel I looked great on chemo even though I had no hair. I didn't wear my wig. Hated it. Just wore it one weekend for my niece's Bat Mitzvah (my avatar picture is from that weekend. It's after my 4th of 6 chemo). I highly recommend going to one of those Looks Good Feel Better programs from the ACS. They will show you how to apply make up and care for your skin. I used (and still using) the Anastasia brow duo to fill in my eyebrows. Looks so natural that when I asked my onc last April if the thinning of my eyebrows was still from chemo she said "but your eyebrows look fine".
Looking good is really more in the face than the hair… and I had a beautiful shiny straight bob. I'm now pixie short and keeping it that way. (If you missed the earlier linky to my hair transition you can click linky)
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HAPPY NEW YEAR! Make this one happy and healthy!
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Thanks, lago. I wore the wig yesterday and everbody loved it. Still, I actually am warming up very quickly to the scarves/buffs/turbany thingies. There is a certain flair to them!
Now for a question for the more frum among you. When I'm in shul, if I'm on the bima or it's morning and I'm wearing a tallit, I do cover my head with either a kippa or a lace covering. It's sort of my conservadox approach that only started when I realized that, when I started donning a tallit, it sort of looked silly not to wear something on my head, even though I was still unmarried. Anyway, obviously, if I'm wearing a hat or turban, that's considered covered. However, if I'm wearing a wig.... do I put a covering on the wig, or does that count? I understand outside of shul, that does count in Orthodox communities.
Thanks. Shabbat Shalom!
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I say the wig or scarf counts (and I bet the Rabbi would agree) but if you don't want people thinking "why isn't she covering her head" or asking "why" then put the covering on.
Ironically may of the non Jewish women I've me in my area went to the place the Orthodox women go to get their wigs. They said they made the best.
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Hi all,
Wanted to pass along info about Sharsheret. From their website:
Sharsheret, Hebrew for "chain", is a national not-for-profit organization supporting young women and their families, of all Jewish backgrounds, facing breast cancer. Our mission is to offer a community of support to women diagnosed with breast cancer or at increased genetic risk, by fostering culturally-relevant individualized connections with networks of peers, health professionals, and related resources.
Since Sharsheret's founding in 2001, we have responded to more than 23,000 breast cancer and ovarian cancer inquiries, involved more than 1,400 peer supporters, and presented over 250 educational programs nationwide. Sharsheret now offers a continuum of care for the Jewish community - addressing the needs of those who are concerned about the risk of breast cancer in their family, those who have been diagnosed with the disease and are undergoing treatment, and those who face issues of survivorship or recurrence.0 -
Sharsheret is a wonderful organization...I'm going to be participating in their link training this week... I had the wonderful fortune to meet Rochelle last year at my house when she was in Denver....She is really amazing.....
Rachel...the women in my shul who wear sheitels generally don't wear a hat over it..I agree with Lago, it you are wearing a sheitel, wear something over it if you don't want people to know...I go to an orthodox shul.....I only started covering my hair full time about 1 1/2 years ago....I wear hats....
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EnglishMajor - thanks so much for the website. I am going to look into it. As an aside, Im curious - how long was everyones hair before they were comfortable going "topless?" Mine is maybe 2 - 3 inches long now and it almost looks like "I meant for it to be this short." I am still wearing wigs to work because I think it looks better...
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I went topless at 13 weeks. Dyed my hair the next day. Here's my transition linky. Dates are in the lower left.0
