04/02/2013

2 years after last chemo session

 

So, how long has it been now? I have taken pictures but never posted them and by the time I go back to look at them, I can't remember when I took them. (Is that Alzheimer's I need to worry about now?) Finally, I remembered--maybe because it was the anniversary...

I'm still trying to get my hair the right color but at least I think I'm going in the right direction this time. It got a little white there for a while. It's still too thin, especially on the crown, and I have a lot of breakage around my face--bangs have splintered off and the parts on the sides that I want to get long keep breaking as well. That's the bad news. The good news is I'm still doing well after two years and have had no recurrence. I started teaching Seminary last November so I'm pretty wasted but I don't think I can fairly attribute that to disease :).

Life is good. My kids are doing well, Mario and I are trying to buy a home and my job is promising. Most importantly, I have learned to count my blessings--all my blessings--every day. Life is good.

I think it's a sign that I'm really recovered from cancer when I can't remember I ever had it. I have not been able to remember to take my quarterly hair pictures to post and, to be honest, I keep getting it cut so you really can't tell how much it's growing anyway. Here I am on September 30, 2012--18 months after my last chemo session. It's a little too blonde (having a lot of trouble explaining what I want) but I realized during the last two months that the roots aren't growing in all that dark anymore and the grey is minimal. Hopefully, I can start letting it grow out in my "natural" color!

09/30/2012

18 months after last chemo session

I'm trying to get it the way it was before. Right now it's really thin and not quite long enough but I'm hoping it will fix itself over time.

New Style

4/10/12

I know I said I was only going to post every quarter but I had to show you my first real haircut since chemo. It's pretty short but the ends are so much better now! Of course, it's one of those style you can't fix without the right goo so after three HORRIBLE hair days, I finally broke down and bought the expensive goo. I still need practice but it's doing better. This picture is what the stylist did before I left the salon. I have hair!

The One-Year Mark

04/01/2012

One year after last chemo session

It's hard to believe a whole year has passed since that last chemo session. I met with my oncologist this past month and things still look very good. My energy is not fabulous and I still have joint pain from the Arimidex but I'm healthy and have gotten back into life. I feel like I've returned to the land of the living.

As for the hair, I've decided to go to a quarterly posting. I've started getting it cut now so you won't see great changes in length from month to month. I'm hoping in another year it's back to the way it was. Still not crazy about the color. Maybe Summer can figure that out for me when she comes home next week. (Yeah!)

As you can see from a couple of posts ago, my hair is REALLY straight and kind of resistant to curl. I'm going to talk to my hairdresser this week about the possibility of a perm--probably not this time because I'm due for a cut and when it's shorter it's easier to curl but maybe next month. I'll have to see what she says. It feels like it's filling in a little--doesn't look quite as bald in the back--but still not very thick. It's getting some shine, though, by the roots (not that dead stuff on the ends) so it's starting to look healthier, too.

On a more positive note, my eyelashes have fully recovered and my nails are much better. I still have vertical ridges in one of my pinkie fingernails but the others are smooth and still regaining their strength. I keep them pretty short since I do so much typing but they grow fast and don't split much at all.

See you in three months!

My First Haircut

Here we are, eleven months after my last chemo session, and I actually had a haircut! I took this picture before I had it cut

2/13/2012

so you could 1) see that it really does look like a dandelion (I don't know why it sticks up like that when I dry it!) and 2) see that my poor hairdresser didn't have much to work with. She really cut off very little and some of the ends are still fried but she'll get to those next time. You can also see that my hair is not curly or thick like they promise it will be after chemo so I guess everybody reacts differently.

This is what it looks like now, after the haircut and after I curled it.

2/14/2012

And here it is two weeks later, on my normal day to take a picture for this blog. It looks longer to me even between these last two.

3/1/2012

eleven months after last chemo session

I'm still trying to get the color right. I can't figure out what's so hard about getting that color but she has not been able to nail it yet. Summer says I should give up and go somewhere else...

Almost Ready for a Cut

1/31/2012
10 months after last chemo session

I felt as tired as I look in this picture. I started full-time work January 9th and I am just beat when I come home. Still, I wanted to keep the hair pictures up. I got my hair colored again January 4th and asked her to make it less red. I still think it's a little red but I can't seem to get that across to her. I wanted to show a picture of the back, too...

...because it's really thin and fine. When I was about to lose my hair, everyone told me it would grow back thicker, coarser and more curly, although a little darker. The only thing I got was darker. It's much thinner and more fine, although I am taking medication that lists as a side effect thinning hair. It's been four weeks since my color job and you can definitely see the roots. I have two more weeks to go until my appointment and I think I'll be able to get a cut this time. Since my hair has grown in so unevenly it's a little hard to curl but it's WAY better than it was even six months ago. (Yes, I started using a curling iron on it the week I went back to work.) As you can see, I have enough hair now to have a bad hair day!

Best Thing about Christmas

12/25/2011
Almost 9 months after my last chemo session

The red hasn't faded much (the flash makes it look lighter) but I can't worry about silly things like my hair when I'm holding this beautiful little one. What a joy!