So first item - I'm starting to lose some hair. Susan noticed it on Sunday morning and sure enough - there's some evidence on the pillowcase. it's a bit hard to see in the picture because of the pattern on the pillow case but that line at the tip of the pen isn't a stem of a leaf, it's hair off of my head:
After noticing that, I went to get my hair cut and went down from a "3" to a "2" all over. Not sure how much I will lose but it's definitely started. On the one hand, it's no big deal; the effect will go away once I stop the chemo and in some sense it's a good sign that the chemo is targeting rapidly growing cells (like hair). But it's scary to think just how pervasive this stuff is in my system and it's another visible sign of how messed up your body is by the chemo. On the plus side, my facial hair growth has also slowed way down. I've been shaving every day (modulo vacations and grunge weekends) for the last 30 years and I'm now able to go 2-3 days without getting much stubble on my face. Freaky! I've also started wearing hats when outside in the sun and wearing a helmet liner when I ride my bike so I don't get sunburn on my slowly emerging scalp.
I love the pen pointer. It also gives a good sense of scale for the pillow and length of hair. Very scientific. :)
ReplyDeleteThis is a freaky, visible part of chemo (the hair loss), but I like your perspective that at least it means that the treatment is being effective at targeting fast growing cells. It will be strange to see you with a hair cut that is different than the one you've had my whole life....but BTBD, right?