Thanks for the Mammories....

Week 3 of Chemo... As I continue to wait to see if and when my hair is going to fall out, I ran across this really interesting booklet on the internet that I am I really excited to share with you! "I Couldn't Stand the Thought of Losing My Hair" Edited by Kathleen Avegno Bonie, Ph.D. and Kirsten York Harrell, Psy.D.  In this booklet, 84 courageous women share their strength, their pain, their humor, and most importantly their feelings as they dealt with hair loss from chemo. I wanted to share this with you for a couple reasons.  First of all, I think that many times, when a loved one or a friend is beginning a battle with cancer, chemo, and hair loss...we are lost for words to say.  We want to say the right thing, something that is going to make someone feel better.  This booklet shares helpful as well as hurtful reactions to the hair loss of others.  It really gi...

I believe that waiting to see if, when and how much of my hair is going to fall out is kind of like Ben and my boys (who are loyal Purdue fans) waiting to see if Indiana University will win the National Tournament or just how far they will go.  I am not going to lie to you, the thought of losing my hair sickens me. But I have a new friend, Miss Wiggly.  She is quietly waiting on her stand in my bedroom to keep her fluffed and beautiful.  I have asked her not to stare much at me right now when I walk into the room.  Our bond isn't that strong yet...we just met a week ago. And there is always that chance that I may not even need her. You see, my hair loss is unpredictable.  They say that I could lose a little hair, a few clumps of hair, or possibly... probably all of it. I started my first of twelve weekly Taxol chemo treatments on March 7....

As most of you know, I live in a small town.  And what happens in small towns? News travels quickly! And like a good ol' game of telephone, the story changes a bit as it goes down the line.  So I decided the best way to share my journey is with this blog...the good and the bad.  As most of you know, I had my bilateral mastectomy on February 14th.  Recovery has really gone well!  I have visited with both surgeons, and they are both very pleased with how everything looks. My plastic surgeon has placed expanders in to help stretch my tissue and skin for a future implant surgery.  My cancer surgeon was pleased with the tissue removal.  I visited with my wonderful oncologist, Dr. Miller, today which brings me to that next  hurdle on my track we need to talk about.  The removed scar tissue from the original cancerous tumor still contained a few live cancer cells.  Now while they are gone from my body and my margins are cle...