Chemo Curls & Dark Hair Mystery Solved

My hair has been the topic of many conversations since I threw out the wig and went w/the ultra short boy hair!  People still ask if my hair was always this dark and was it always curly.  A big no to both!!!

Thank you to Jenna at Melanie's my locks were pretty blonde but in "real life" it was brown and straight, or at least I think that is what it was.  Years of coloring and highlighting had even me scratching my head and wondering what it really was. 

Below is the real deal on chemo and what the drugs do to cells and why hair doesn't grow back how you think it would.

According to Breast Cancer.org, chemotherapy treatment rapidly kills all growing cells within the body, including both cancerous and healthy cells. Hair follicle cells are considered to be a fast-growing cell within the body and often are targeted by the chemotherapy treatment.

Chemotherapy drugs affect the roots of your hair, and will continue to affect hair shaft formation because the drugs will still be in your system for some time after treatment. Your hair, skin, and fingernails will take some time to recover as the toxins leave your body. When your new hair comes in, it may be different from your natural hair for the next six to twelve months after treatment. This is due to the loss or change of pigment and may result in white, gray, or some color different than your natural hair color. As your body recovers and hair pigment rebounds, your hair may return to its original color, or a color close to your pre-chemo hair. Expect a change in hair texture as well - it may initially be curly, coarse, or even fine as baby hair. 

Thank you to ehow.com and about.com for that explanation.

So happy to have hair it doesn't really matter!  It's kind of fun watching it grow, like a present.

And great news...received bloodwork results and Vitamin D levels are great!  Why?  Because I take 10,000 iu of Vitamin D every day.  If you don't think it is important go out and Google Vitamin D and see all the wonderful things it does for us.  And even better the "tumor markers" although not a exact indicator of cancer are nice and low, just where I want them to be as well.  Lovin' Life!!!

And last but not least, darn eyelashes are falling out again!  Good old chemo the gift that just keeps on giving.  Another present (but one that I don't want).

The Fainting Goats

Back in 2005 while watching Tuckerville I saw the most amazing animals EVER, fainting goats.  By the way Tuckerville was a reality show about country music star Tanya Tucker and her life on the farm with her kids.  They were crazy, but in a good way of course.

Anyway back to the fainting goats...if you can succeed in startling/scaring them their muscles will freeze up for about 10-30 seconds causing them to collapse on their sides.  It was hysterical watching them on tv and I wanted to see one so bad!

Today my dream came true and I was invited by a friend for a visit w/the goats.  I've only been inviting myself to the "farm" for a visit for the past year and I may have finally wore her down. As we walked towards the pen I lost any desire to see them freeze up and fall over sideways, I couldn't do it, couldn't scare them, didn't even want to.  So I whipped out my bag of baby carrots and had a grand time feeding, rather than frightening the goats. 

Guess somethings are best to enjoy on television.

If you want to see and learn more about fainting goats visit http://animal.discovery.com/videos/weird-true-freaky-fainting-goats.html I guarantee you will laugh!

Who in their right mind does a half-marathon?

So far I've logged over 100 miles in June and I'm tired!  While doing our first 8-mile walk Brenda said "We're awesome" and maybe I'm a little full of myself but my reply was "I know I'm awesome".  After 20 rounds of just plain nasty chemo, months of daily painful shots to keep the cell count up, 4 surgeries and believe me having a mastectomy is not a cake walk, a few months of neuropathy and aches so bad I didn't want to get out of bed and finally 28 rounds of radiation, I know I'm awesome and I know that I am so blessed to be able to wake up every morning and train for a half-marathon!!!

So yes I'm tired, I ache every day, it hurts to walk, it hurts after the walk but I am going to prove a point that cancer is NOT going to get the best of me.  It is going to bring out the best in me. 

So Parkersburg Half Marathon on August 20th watch out...cause Brenda, Angela and Lori are out to prove a point.

Update...The Apple Cider Vinegar after 2-days has been amazing.  The pressure is gone and the gunk is moving on. 

Taking A Break

On week #3 of being jobless...maybe that should be "stress-less"!  It has been wonderful!  Visiting with family, lunch with friends and getting caught up around the house.  The big dark circles that have been under my eyes for almost a year are slowly dissapearing.

Visited oncologist last week and white blood cell count is still low (probably the reason for the sinus infection I've been battling the last week).  As it looks like any of us w/a low count are susceptible to them and infections in general, I have been doing a lot of reading on natural remedies and have settled on nasal rinses w/silver and apple cidar vinegar.  It really doesn't taste bad. Maybe that is because I don't get to drink big girl drinks much anymore and it is kind of like taking a shot!  Here is more information if anyone else is suffering from sinus infections.

http://curezone.com/blogs/fm.asp?i=973746


Don't forget girls take your Vitamin D every day! 

Understanding TNBC

HOME | TV SCHEDULE | EPISODE DESCRIPTIONS | FREDDIE AWARDS | VIEWER COMMENTS Understanding Triple Negative Breast Cancer Breast cancer is probably the disease many women fear the most. But in many cases breast cancer is not the automatic death sentence some people perceive it to be. There are effective treatments that can stop the cancer from growing. But when a woman is diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer many of those treatments don't work so researchers have to find other options. In this program we meet women who were diagnosed with Triple Negative Breast Cancer, see what treatments are working to stop the cancer and hear how women can live healthy, productive lives after being diagnosed and treated for Triple Negative Breast Cancer.

http://www.itvisus.com/programs/hbhm/episode_2003_understanding_triple_negative_breast_cancer.asp#ooid=51dzNoMjoZtkNRhm-09wKGboVyETIwNS