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!

Yikes!

Since my hair has been growing in so dark and grey, I thought I'd go get it colored to what it was before this chemo thing. I even took my wig (which was really close to my hair color before--a little darker but not bad) and asked the stylist to get as close to that as she could. When she showed me the color swatches, it looked like the color was pretty close. When she finished my hair it was not even remotely close. I now have red hair and, although I have had a red-head's complexion my whole life, I hate the red hair. I hope I can stand it until January when I can get it redone. It's still thin, especially on the crown where it used to be really thick, but it is getting longer and doesn't look quite so concentration-camp as it used to. I sure expect a lot from a head of hair!

11/30/11

eight months after last chemo session

Losing it again...

My great sadness is that although my hair started to come in pretty thick, I'm losing it again, this time due to the drug they have me on. I don't think I'll lose it all like I did with chemo but it's definitely thinning. What an indictment that my hair loss bothers me more than my mastectomy!

I underwent plastic surgery this past month for reconstruction and am now completely through with everything on my to-do list as far as this cancer goes. Yeah! I'm flying out tomorrow to see my new grandson (who is on his way but not here quite yet...)

11/08/11

seven months after last chemo session

Growing...

9/30/2011
six months after last chemo session

Very kind people constantly tell me my hair looks great. I think they're all headed straight for the celestial kingdom...

I saw my oncologist yesterday and have been declared officially healthy and completely DONE with cancer. I'm through with treatments and don't plan to ever need them again so life is very good. My final surgery (cosmetic only) is scheduled for October 17 after which I can turn my back on this past year and truly feel like I'm back in the human race again. Yeah!

Glad to be cool

Here's the latest--running behind like always. I decided to go to monthly but I didn't even make that deadline (which would have been August 31).

9/5/2011

5 months after last chemo session

It's coming in really curly and grey. I mousse it down on the top and up in the back so it looks darker than it really is. The ends, especially, are really light (white?). I am able to part it now (with enough mousse) so it's looking more deliberate than accidental. When the mousse starts to wear out, I just wet it down again. It's been great to have short hair during August and is a breeze to "fix" in the mornings but I'm still looking forward to longer hair.