Almost done with Chemo!

I know it's been too long since my last post. Sometimes, I'm just not sure what to say. I have finished 7/8 treatments and am doing pretty well. My last treatment is August 12th! I can't wait for chemotherapy to be done. I will feel like it's all down hill from there. The steroids and chemotherapy cause all kinds of interesting side effects as I mentioned in the last entry and I will be so glad to get them out of my system. I am scheduled for surgery on September 12th. Since the tumors have shrunk so much with the chemotherapy, my surgeon is recommending a lumpectomy with radiation. Although I am not looking forward to the radiation, I know it is necessary. The surgery should be easy and I will get 4 weeks of break before the radiation starts. The radiation therapy takes place Monday through Friday for 5-6 weeks! That'll be challenging.

The summer has been going good. We have had lots of help from family and friends for each round of chemo. Our friends have been making sure that we are always fed with meals during to week of chemo. They are always dee-licious! I also got my freezer stocked by my Fiendette sisters from our assignment in Korea. They organized a meal program long distance. I have some awesome friends! The kids are doing well with vacation bible school, Girl Scout camp, Civil War Camp, trips to Grannie's, and various other outings and activities. I am also keeping them up-to-date on their school work as much as possible with worksheets and computer math and letter writing. My mother's helper, our teenage neighbor, has been a great help this summer. She plays with the kids, makes lunch, does the dishes, picks up toys, etc., while I am able to exercise or go to the doctor or just rest if I need to.

I have had some interesting Bald Lady experiences since my last post. First of all, I posed for the Beyond Boobs calendar. I will be the only bald lady in it so I hope I look good. It will be released on October 2nd and I can't wait to see it. Next, I am being interviewed and featured on the cover of the Daily Press (Hampton Roads newspaper) September-October Healthy Living Insert. They will be interviewing several of my Beyond Boobs friends and me for a Breast Cancer awareness article. I am on the cover because they wanted someone that was willing to pose bald. Yes, baldness is my look of choice these days. I get a lot of strange looks and attention, but I also get lots of support and encouragement. The reason I have chosen to leave the wigs and scarves at home is because I just feel the most comfortable this way. Not just physically more comfortable (cooler, less itchy), but also mentally more comfortable. I just never feel like myself in my wigs and scarves and hats. I do wear a hat if I'm going to be out in the sun (I sure don't need freckles on my head). I have to admit that it's getting harder to go bald now that my eyelashes are thinnning and my face is often swollen. I don't look like myself at all. I have been a little down about that. But, this too shall pass. I have lots of cool earrings and have been experimenting with my makeup, too. Hopefully, my photo shoot on Tuesday will be flattering. I hope it will inspire other women who are losing their hair. Not that they should go bald, but that being bald is only as terrible as you let it be. And it's only hair! I am constantly amazed by the people that come up and say, "You go girl!". I have one little lady who just loves my "hair-do" and says I look ETHNIC :) She always compliments my earrings! The other day I was at the bookstore checking out when a nice, older bald man approached me and asked to have his picture taken with me. He said he just thought I was so cool and wanted to put the picture on his website. He owns his own business and gives 10% of his proceeds to charity. Maybe I can coax him to donate it to Beyond Boobs! Today, I was at the grocery store when this little old lady came up and told me she liked my hair-do and wanted to know why I did it. She said that she had lost a lot of hair due to blood thinners and was wearing a wig. She said she had seriously considered going to get her hair shaved really short that morning because she was so hot and itchy, but she wasn't sure she should do it. Then, she saw me and said that my boldness inspired her and she thinks it's all about what's on your face and if you smile and look nice it doesn't matter what your hair looks like. Wow. Just when I'm feeling crappy about myself I get a boost like that. God works in mysterious ways.