One of the "great" side effects of chemotherapy is hair loss and skin changes. While I knew this was an obvious side effect, I am learning that there are a lot of side effects of cancer and chemo that I had no idea about. The crazy thing is though the side effects affect people differently depending on how the body reacts to the chemo. Some side effects may not affect me whereas I might have some of my own side effects. Yeah!
To prepare for the inevitable side effect of hair loss and appearance changes, I have been able to meet with a wig consultant, and a cosmetologist as part of a Look Good Feel Better program put together for women cancer patients. First I met with Megan Saunders a wig and head covering specialist. Megan was super nice and had some great pointers for me. She showed me how to put wigs on properly so that they do not look like wigs. She showed me how to tie scarves on my head in different ways. Together we tried on over 20 wigs to find just the right one for me. The American Cancer Society's Wig Closet offers one free wig to cancer patients so I was able to select one that I thought looked like me. What do you think:
I think it totally looks like me and you can't even tell it is a wig in the picture, right? Well I can tell it's a wig because it is kind of scratchy. Megan said that most people wear a head covering under their wigs so that they don't itch. The key to fooling people is to wear the wig in the right position. The people that know me well will know it is a wig because they will know I have cancer and have lost my hair but strangers at the store or some where will have no idea. That is the goal.
When I got home, the kids were so funny. They thought it would be fun to try on the wig too.
Aren't they so cute! I think the wig fit Logan the best. Charlotte was so cute in it. She looked just like a baby doll! Emily was just funny and was doing all sorts of poses. Colby on the other hand wanted nothing to do with it. That was funny because it was his idea to try on the wig and take pictures in the first place. Then when it came time for his turn, he was not doing it at all. He was so mad when I made him try it on for fun because everyone else had done it. Well if any of my children ever looked like me, this is what they would look like!
As far as liking the way I looked in the wig, all of the kids said I looked different. Nice huh. They said I looked just like Tami. Colby and Logan told me to take it off because I still had my normal hair. I told them that eventually I will lose all of my hair and they told me I could wear it then.
I also got a bunch of scarves to wear on my head. I was practicing different ways to tie the scarves and Logan told me I looked weird and very adamantly told me to take it off! My kids are so rude! I told them I will be wearing these things all the time in the future when my hair falls out but I don't think they really understand what is going to happen. I don't think I really understand what is going to happen. Yeah it is fun to try on wigs and change my look and practice tying scarves but I can always just laugh it off and take them off and have my normal look back. How will I really feel when my hair is really gone? What will I look like when I am bald? Will I have a nice round head or will it be funny shaped with bumps and weird things like that? I don't know how I will feel. Despite all of the "bad hair days" I have had in my life, I actually really like my hair. I think this might be a very hard side effect to get used to. I know it will grow back eventually but in the meantime? I don't know I guess I will save a lot of money on shampoo? Save time on styling in the morning? Look like a pirate or a gypsy? Maybe I will look as cute as Charlotte does with her bald head. Not only will my hair fall out but possibly my eyebrows and eye lashes too. Hopefully I won't look too much like an alien. I am trying not to think about it. I guess I will cross that bridge when I get there.
Next I met with another breast cancer lady in the Look Good Feel Better class. Here we were taught by a cosmetologist how to properly apply makeup to help cover the changes in our skin. She was really nice too and had some great tips. As part of the class we were given a whole bag full of makeup and skin products. I was amazed at everything that was in the bag. There was moisturizer, concealer, foundation, blush, eye shadow, eye liner, brow pencils, lip liner and lipstick, along with brushes, face cleansers, and fingernail polish, and more. It was a very nice gift bag. I still don't wear much makeup but it was nice to get all fancied up in this class. I think with my makeup and wig on, I will not look like a cancer patient. I will look good.
I don't know how chemo will affect me or how I will look or feel because of it. I hope I will be okay. I hope I will still be able to live my life and not be confined to a bed. I hope I will still be able to take care of my children. I know I will feel tired and I know I will be sick some days but I hope I will have more good days than bad. In the meantime I will continue annoy my children by practicing ways to tie scarves on my head.
No comments:
Post a Comment