Stage 2 Sisters Club
Comments
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Chrissie29, one of my docs told me I probably had breast cancer for up to 10 years, but to small to see on mammo.
Ruth, love the hair. Still waiting on mine.
Finished radiation last week, yay! Oncologist put Herceptin on hold due to heart EF dropped to 45%. They will do another ECHO in 6 weeks and if it is back up, start Herceptin again. I'm getting a t-shirt made; "Chemo, a blessing and a curse." Neuropathy still present in finger tips and feet. -8 degrees this morning. Not looking forward to going to work, but then again....TGIF!
mm
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mm, here is a funny hair story: I had finished chemo the beginning of June, did radiation in the summer, and was still wearing a wig when I started school that fall; so my new class didn't know anything about the cancer stuff & assumed the wig (which looked similar to what my hair looks like now) was my 'real' hair.....finally by December I had really short, REALLY curly hair of my own (like when your gramma would put 'pin curls' in her hair...if anyone remembers that)....anyway, I just couldn't stand the wig anymore, so one Monday I ditched it and went to school with the new do. One of my 7th grade girls, a real fashion diva, looked at me in horror and asked, "WHAT did you do to your hair?" I just threw up my hands and responded, "You don't even want to know!!!" and left it at that.
.......My hair did relax pretty quickly, was quite curly cute for about a year & then, boom, back to straight again.0 -
Ruth, that's a great story. I can picture it SO clearly.
Has anyone ever read/heard why it is that hair frequently comes back in curly and then, usually, straightens out again later?
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I have read that it is a DNA alteration while there are still drugs in the system, so the hair may curl, then as the DNA reverts back to normal the hair usually goes back to its original texture. For the most part it seems nobody really knows why this happens though, or if that is even a legit theory. FWIW - my previously very straight hair did not grow in curly at all - I looked like a Chia pet, it grew in very straight, just as it was prior to chemo, and stood on end - I used a lot of sticky product to get it to lay down and cut it a lot - even when it was very short to shape it into some kind of a style.
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Thanks for the theories and info, Kay.
I can't quite picture you as a blonde chia pet but I'm betting you rocked the look.
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hopeful - I was a blonde child, my hair darkened a bit over time, but I have highlighted it blonde for quite some time to blend the gray roots, since I started to go gray in my 20's - eek! It was pretty interesting to see my whole head gray - which is my "natural" color now, lol!
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I, too, started to see bits of grey in my late 20s, so I sympathize. Blonde covers a multitude of issues, doesn't it?
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hopeful - it does! Plus, I have enough gray that I look like a skunk if I go too dark - and my hair grows fast, so blonde it is!
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Yes, mine grows fast, too. My nails, also. My stylist can count on seeing me every month!
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Mine is straight also SK. It just does not want to fill on top yet, so I still have to wear a hat. Funny thing is my hair is so straight usually and long I forgot how many cowlicks I have. lol I have little mohawks all over.
Ruth, I remember pin curls. ;-)
mm
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I am HER2+, so chemo was a given. But I only made it through 4 of 6 treatments - we had to stop for fear of killing me, as I was hospitalized multiple times with level 3/4 toxicity. (Level 5 means you are dead.) There was a lot of press about a year ago about how for many women, chemo is used but has little to no benefit and is not worth the physical cost of the treatment. It depends on the type/stage/grade of BC, of course. For me, the cost of my needed chemo is not as bad as others have it - but I have neuropathy in my feet that has not gone away, chemo brain that is detrimentally impacting my work ability, digestive issues that won't go away and other SEs still. I last had the more toxic chemo agents last spring. On the other hand, many other women get through it without permanent SEs and without having the unusually difficult time that I had. It is not the norm. Chemo is rough, but doable for most. The biggest thing here is that once you make your decision, no second guessing it. You've got to stand behind it 100% in order to be successful. You will make the choice that feels best in your gut and heart.
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missing - the hair on top and front was the last to come back for me, but the most frustrating because that is what you see when checking in the mirror to see if you have hair, lol!
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a blond chia pet
. Love it!I have naturally curly hair so I'm not expecting too much of a difference in texture. But I'm sure it will probably be a lot more gray than I want...
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Mine is slowly filling in on the top. I look like a baby Orangutan.
FMD, I still have neuropathy after 3 months off Taxol. It is frustrating.
mm
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rleepac - my hairdresser would not color mine until it reached a certain length - she said otherwise it would basically be painting my head. After it got long enough to foil I started slowing adding highlights. Again, hairdresser decreed that trying to foil it too early would result in a situation looking like a cheetah. By the time it was 2-3 inches long it was resembling the previous color.
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Okay - we've got the chia pet, baby orangutang and just missed a cheetah. What an amazing group of shape shifters we are!
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hopeful - as my hair was just coming back with that kind of downy look my DD also referred to me as a duckling or a baby chick. DH called it "dustbunny head" which was actually pretty apt!
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"Dustbunny head"??? Oh my goodness! That's awful, but cute, too. Thanks for the laugh, SK.
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hopeful - in my family we laughingly harass each other all the time, so I was not at all offended, I just cracked up at the remark! We actually tried to maintain as much humor as possible throughout treatment, and my parents and brother all did this too in spite of dad and bro dealing with stage IV cancer within a few years of each other - definitely dark humor runs in my fam. I can see how others might have hurt feelings though, so nobody use that term, lol!!!
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I had ordered a nice wig and after my second round of chemo I went right to the beautician, had her shave my head, fit and style the wig on the spot. When I went home and took off the wig to show DH my bald look, he (trying to be nice) said, "Well, it's not so bad. You look kind of cute, like Granny Clampett." When he saw the VERY SAD expression on my face (because who wants to be compared to an old granny by their husband!), he started to stutter & then we just stared each other and simultaneously burst into hysterical laughter!
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No, I understand that it was used lovingly, SK, and it's pretty cute. But it's quite an image.
When my 'baby' brother was dealing with a pretty awful cancer, I had a nick name for him that always made him smile but he sure wouldn't have stood for it from anyone else.
I'm sorry about all that your family's had to go through, SK. I really think it can to deal with a sibling or parent's dx than one's own situation. To have those situations occur within a few years of each other would be rugged.
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ruthbru - lol!
hopeful - that sibling thing - brothers and sisters do that stuff! I am glad you could make your brother smile, and I bet he appreciated it so much too. It is so hard to watch the ones you love struggle with cancer, but it also helped me understand how hard it was for my husband, children, and in-laws when I was diagnosed, and made me more sensitive to what they were going through too.
My dad's cancer occurred when he was elderly, so at an age when something is going to get you - he was a trooper though - did 6 Taxol, then 6 months later did it again, at 82. My brother's situation was much, much harder. He was dx'ed at 54 with a rare cancer that has no real treatment, and he was gone within 60 days. My mom passed away between my dad and brother of a degenerative neuromuscular disease that she had for 25 years - but I lost them all in a 7 year span. I was dx'ed with a rare tumor in my calf, originally thought to be a sarcoma but thankfully benign, the same year my brother passed away, then dx'ed with BC two years later. I was relieved in a way that I never had to tell my parents, or brother, that I had breast cancer - although I feel they knew and were watching over me.
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I have naturally curly hair, and once mine was past the GI Jane look, I ended up with ringlets! I had fantasised that because my hair was already curly the post chemo hair would be straight lol.
My hair now is a totally different texture though. It used to be quite thick, stiff and wiry. Now it's soft and a lot thinner. I'm also starting to develop some bald patches, so far I'm able to hide them, but apparently Aromasin is known to cause some hair loss.
I'm four years post chemo and three years post Herceptin. My boss also has been dx with bc, and her hair seems to be coming in quite straight.
Trish
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My father was diagnosed with lung cancer and died 3 months later. Actually, I suspect he took a fatal dose of morphine on purpose. All of his siblings had cancer. One aunt had breast cancer when she was young, but died of lung cancer as did my other aunt. When my uncle was diagnosed with leukemia, he committed suicide. Their deaths were all within a few years of one another. But yes, it's so hard to be a family member and watch someone go through it ... I remember feeling so helpless when dad was diagnosed. We were never that close when I was growing up, but after his diagnosis, we had some really good moments together. I felt his presence very strongly just before I was diagnosed. I never told my mother that I had breast cancer because she has Alzheimer's. She was always my biggest fan. I sure could have used her during this fight. But she is fighting her own battle.
Hugs to all!
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"later. I was relieved in a way that I never had to tell my parents, or brother, that I had breast cancer - although I feel they knew and were watching over me."
Yes - having to inflict that on my family was awful. They were troopers but it wasn't easy having a 2nd cancer dx in the family in under 3 years. My mother had passed away many years before. I was grateful not to have to tell her and yes, I do feel that she knows. I do yearn for her comfort at times.
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Trisha-Anne, I hope your hair settles into a look that you like, sooner rather than later!
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bc101 - that is a lot, and I am so sorry about your mom. So hard for both of you, I am sure.
I guess it doesn't matter how old we get we would like to have the comfort only a loving mom can give.
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So true - thanks SpecialK. I miss her so very much. So hard since she is still here, yet gone. There's only one thing I hate more than cancer and that's Alzheimer's. At least with cancer, we have HOPE, and that's a LOT!
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I am sorry, bc101, that is a lot to go through within a few years. You sounds like such a strong woman. ((hug))
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Thank you kittysister. We've all been through a lot - especially those of you who have been through chemo and / or rads. I'm grateful that I didn't have to do those.
I'm strong only because my mom always used to tell me that. Sometimes that is the only thing that got me through.
My dad used to quote Bette Davis' "Getting old ain't for sissies," but I'll change it to:
Getting cancer ain't for sissies!
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