Two weeks after Chemo 1, my hair began
thinning. I’d had a short haircut but it was still very strange to have 40 or
so strands in my hand if I combed my hair with my fingers. I cried. The
physicality of it made the cancer somehow more real.
What they didn’t tell me was how much the
scalp hurts through the hair loss process. You know when you wear your hair up
and then let it down at the end of the day and it kind of aches at the roots?
It’s like that, all the time, purely from the weight of your hair.
As the days progressed, so did the hair
loss, until I was too thin to go out in public without a head cover of some
sort. I’d been experimenting with chemo caps and scarves in preparation but
when it was a necessity… that was different. Three days after the loss began, I
took the scissors to my hair and chopped it about 1cm all over. I shook
as I cut but I hoped the pain would go. It helped but didn’t resolve it until I
took the clippers to my head two days later. I wish I’d taken the advice of
experienced friends who had told me to ‘just shave it off’.
18th Dec
I had a pre-Chemo 2, blood test this
morning and saw my local GP. I have developed a few sores on my scalp (not
uncommon) so she swabbed them and sent them off. With chemo pending, my immune
system will be compromised again so I may need antibiotics to get on top of it.
Also, after a few dizzy days recently, I can now stop taking my blood pressure
medication and monitor it to see how it goes. This is all common too, apparently.
It’s been nice to feel well this week and
catch up with lots of friends and prepare for Christmas.
I have significant bald patches now and
change up the scarf combinations daily. I often add a blingy brooch to sparkle
it up a bit. I look forward to getting home and hanging out bald around the
house. I don’t think I’ll ever go public with my bald head, besides how would I
add the bling!
I'm not looking forward to chemo tomorrow but at least I know what to expect.
X
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