G.I. Jess

So I took took the plunge today and cut off all my hair. My hairdresser was generous enough to offer her services so of course I took the opportunity to have a professional do it. It was definitely not as simple as I imagined it to be since she took the time to trim down my hair first before using the buzzer. I'm not completely bald because you would need a razor to do that, but there's short stubble all over. I don't think we could've done it ourselves (and understandably, Elt was not up to the challenge) so thanks, Sue!

Since my last blog entry I had lost about half my hair. I could've still wore it out no problem since you couldn't really tell unless you lifted up the sides. I guess even though I was avoiding it, I wanted to do it before Friday's treatment because I would be in bed when the rest of hair would come out anyway. I didn't even wash it the past few days because there was no point in making matters worse. Also, I clipped it up to keep it less messy since it was hard to keep Liam's hands out of it when I held him. I was like Charlie Brown's tree where every little bump would create a pile of needles.

So how does it feel? Well, the whole thing was rather anti-climatic. It didn't make me upset at all like I thought and it's just a new me that I have to get used to. I have been wearing a cap at night to keep the hair in place so we are all used to how I look in it. Without the cap, I will admit I look a lot tougher than before and I'm sure if I put on some camouflage, people would not mess with me! My head feels like the soft side of velcro when I run my hands through it. Aidan was there the whole time and he didn't seem upset or scared. I don't know what he thinks about it but I had mentioned the wig and cutting my hair over the past couple of weeks so he was expecting it to happen. Liam gave me wide eyes when I took my cap off to remove the wig, but when I put my cap back on, he was okay. Elt really likes how it looks and actually prefers me without a wig or cap. Although losing hair is the most physical sign of cancer, it is the least painful. Other side effects of chemo are worse and have longer effects so I am more concerned about those. The good news is that my showers will be down to 3 minutes, and we'll be saving a lot on shampoo and electricity from hair drying and straightening!

Early tomorrow morning I go in for testing and then see my oncologist for a report on the progress of the first treatment, so keep your fingers crossed.

J