Things you never thought you'd hear a woman say . . . .

"Oh, crap! I have hair!"

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, after 5 months of no hair, IT IS GROWING BACK! But, much to my dismay, my lovely shade of red seems to have been replaced with some creepy combination of brownish, whitish weirdness. Not only that, but it is a scary looking crew cut. The sides are longer than the top and the top is sticking straight up and fairly sparse. Believe it or not, it is actually harder for me to look at than total baldness. I have taken to wearing a hat or scarf because I don't like how it looks. I know that I need to tough out this initial growing period, but it is funny lookin'. Last night I went to a church meeting and one lady exclaimed, "HEY, WHY ARE YOU WEARING THAT SCARF ON YOUR HEAD?!!!" I thought she really needed me to nicely explain my situation, but turns out that she prefers to see my bald head and that she and her family think I'm the coolest bald lady in church! (They also think my kids are cute and sweet . . . I think my shiny head may have been distracting her!)

"Scars are tattoos with better stories"

As all mothers know, saggy boobs and stretch marks are definately the signs of motherhood. Yes, they are hard to look at, but for a wonderful cause. Now, I have a 4 inch scar on my right boob, a 2 inch scar under my right arm and a 1 inch scar near my left shoulder. And, I have it better than most! I have it better than many of my friends. It was a very easy surgery. I have very little discomfort and was just so happy to be past that next step. My in-laws had a heck of a time keeping me from running around like a chicken with my head cut off. I am just so happy to be done with the worst of it. P.S. I am thinking about getting a tattoo :) I don't know if I'm brave enough!

"I don't want to go to the tanning bed!!!"

Radiation . . . as far as I can tell it is a doctor controlled body burn. Not only that, but you have to report for this wonderful treatment EVERY DAY FOR 5-6 WEEKS!!! It only takes about 30 minutes (aside for the waiting in the lobby) and causes skin irritation and fatigue. I'm sure my fair skin will love this treatment. The fatigue is supposedly cummulative, but not anything like chemo. I guess it is good that I had chemo first so I can keep it all in perspective. I am scheduled to begin radiation sometime in October so hopefully I will be totally done by Thanksgiving! I will definatley be thankful!

"Yes, please sign me up to walk 39 miles."

A couple of my girlfriends approached me and told me that they wanted to do the Avon 2-day walk for breast cancer in May. I had been thinking about this myself and planning to make the committment to it, but hadn't had the guts to do it. They were very gung-ho about the whole idea and wanted to do it in my honor and start raising money right away. I was so touched. BUT, I am not going to sit and watch. I am going, too! It is May 2-3 in Washington DC. I am very excited!

Getting Back to Normal

It's been over 3 weeks since my last chemo session (and post . . . yikes!). I am starting to feel almost normal. I am trying to get back into shape as I slacked on the exercise routine for the last 4 months. I also ate lots of not-so-good-for-you (but comforting!) foods that assisted me in gaining 15 pounds! I have set myself some goals and am trying to get back into my routine. With the kids starting school this week, I think it will be easier.

My surgery is scheduled for next Friday, the 12th. I will be having a lumpectomy so I am anticipating a fairly easy recovery. Chris's parents will be coming to help out. I am looking forward to getting that next step behind me.

Some exciting news: I was in the newspaper this week. For what? Being bald. No, not exactly, but kind of. They wanted to do a story on breast cancer survivors in their Healthy Living insert and were looking for someone to pose bald. Of course, I agreed. They featured several of my friends and loads of information on Beyond Boobs and other breast cancer support groups. Wanna see it? Here is a link to it:

http://www.dailypress.com/features/custom/healthyliving/dp-hl-breastcancer-main-sept08,0,6791946.story

The kids started school this week. Alex is in fourth grade this year. I can hardly believe it. Rebecca started second grade. She loves school and is going to be a great student. Mary is going to preschool 4 days a week this year. She loves it and is ready for it. She already knows how to write her name and most the ABCs. She is so excited to learn and be with her friends.

The next big deal is the Calendar Premiere. It will be October 15th in Williamsburg. As some of you may know, this is a big fundraiser for my support group, Beyond Boobs. Also, I will be one of the calendar girls in it! It will be a fun Pink Carpet affair and I even get to ride there in a pink Hummer stretch limo! I've never, ever been in a limo before. It should be a fun night. Wanna join us? You can buy tickets here:

http://www.beyondboobsinc.org/purchase_tickets.htm