How 3 Women Handled Hair Loss From Chemo
Cancer survivors partake which styles worked stylish for them — and how they faced losing their hair with style and grace
The judgment “ You have cancer” is generally nearly followed by “ You ’re going to lose your hair.” That’s the way it was for me when I was diagnosed with stage 3 ovarian cancer in early October 2018. I chose to go bald, but the decision of how to handle hair loss from chemo is veritably particular, and how I went about it was just one of numerous options.
Women may also choose to wear headdresses, turbans, headscarves, or hairpieces, which could be realistic looking or fun and capricious. There’s indeed a lower- known option — cold cap remedy, also appertained to as cold circumscribing or crown cooling — that can minimize hair loss from chemo.
Then’s how three women with a variety of judgments chose to handle the prospect of losing their hair to chemo.
Ashadee Miller, 38
Columbus, Ohio
Profession Fitness educator and pen
Opinion Bone cancer, diagnosed at 34
System for Dealing With Hair Loss Going bald
I started with hairpieces. For me, it was a confidence issue. My hair has always been such a huge part of my identity. I ’m mixed race, and (my hair) had always been long and easy to do. I actually allowed for a long time that my hair was me. It spooked me to suppose that by losing my hair, I would be losing a part of myself. At first, hairpieces sounded like the perfect choice because I would still be suitable to wear that confidence on my head and people would still see me as I had always been.
But after trying them out during chemo and being in temporary menopause because of my chemotherapy treatments, I decided not to wear them presently. The hairpieces were veritably itchy and kept my head veritably warm when I would witness hot flashes. One day I had to ask myself,"Am I my hair?"My answer was no. I'm so much further than my hair. That day was transformative for me and allowed me to more freely rock my bald head with confidence.
Pros I loved numerous corridor of being bald the convenience, the plutocrat and time it saved, and the times when I was suitable to connect with other cancer fighters and survivors spontaneously in grocery stores or at the pictures. Now when I see a woman with a bald head, I always wonder if she's a fellow cancer legionnaire like me.
Cons It was veritably cold in the wintertime.
Biggest Assignment My hair isn't me; I'm further than that. Society tells women that beauty is long hair, long switches, perfect eyebrows, gorgeous skin and nails, and toned bodies. During my chemo treatments I had no hair, eyelashes, or eyebrows. I had horribly chapped and dry, cracked skin. I also gained 15 pounds from my treatments and came bloated from the vast quantities of steroids they pumped into my body during treatment. Learning to see my whole tone and truly see me for me was huge. I may not be society’s interpretation of beautiful, but I'm still beautiful, also and now.
Advice for Other Women Passing Hair Loss This trip of hair loss is hard. You may not fete yourself, but know that you're beautiful no matter what. Rock out your toupee if it makes your confidence grow, or wear your bald head proudly! Reach out to musketeers and know that you do n’t have to walk this alone. You aren't your hair. Your beauty goes so important deeper.
Adina Schecter, 42
Greater Boston Area, Massachusetts
Profession Instructional trainer for middle and high academy preceptors
Opinion Bone cancer, diagnosed at 33; has a BRCA1 mutation, a inheritable change that greatly increases a woman’s threat of developing bone or ovarian cancer
System for Dealing With Hair Loss Wearing headscarves
Another youthful woman at my treatment center said that she didn't want to wear a toupee because she wanted the world to know that women her age were getting cancer. This told my decision. Also, my musketeers and family started buying me these beautiful scarves right down, and I just got into wearing them; it reminded me of all the love I was getting from my community. My family Ariel made one for me. I wore a scarf my departed grandmother used to wear. These scarves reminded me that I was so favored and taken care of. It was emblematic for me, being wrapped in love by my musketeers and family.
I was diagnosed when I had a 5-month-old baby and a 2- time-old. I knew the baby wasn't going to notice a change in my hair, but the 2- time-old did, and I bothered that being bald might scarify her. My hubby and I talked to her about how being bald is beautiful. We read this great children’s book that I would largely recommend to other maters called Nowhere Hair by Sue Glader.
One day I took off my scarf because I was hot, and my son said, “ Mommy, you look enough.” I knew she was trying to make me feel more, and it was one of the sweetest moments. Also, my son started wearing the scarves, too, so it ended up being a sportful, delightful experience for both of us.
Pros Since people could tell I had cancer, every time I went out into the world people would treat me with redundant love and kindness. I just embraced this. I felt like I was being my true tone by not hiding my cancer but rather showing the world that I could be beautiful and strong in the face of illness.
Cons My head did occasionally get too hot. Some of the scarves were a little harder to tie than others. Some days I felt too tired to tie them, and they sounded more like a nuisance.
Biggest Assignment There's commodity intimidating about looking in the glass and seeing a different person from the bone you saw two weeks agone, but there's also commodity liberating. Besides not having to worry about hair junking or soap (which was quite a luxury for an Ashkenazi Jew), I just appreciated what I did have so much more. Losing my hair and chancing a way to handle that big change was emblematic of my cancer experience overall. When (I was) diagnosed with cancer, there was so important I lost control over (like my life!), but I felt in control of how I lived during cancer.
Advice for Other Women Passing Hair Loss Get a fun hobgoblin cut beforehand on and just shave it off before it starts falling out in clumps. I was glad I did that because I suppose it might have been more disturbing to watch large clumps fall out.
Follow Adina Schecter on Instagram at@alschecter.
Heather Hall, 46
Sterling Heights, Michigan
Profession Vice chairman, commercial dispatches for a croaker association
Judgments Osteosarcoma, diagnosed at 21; carcinoma, diagnosed at 27; and bone cancer, diagnosed at 43
System for Dealing With Hair Loss Using cold caps
I was bald for nearly 15 months during bone cancer (osteosarcoma) treatment when I was 21. While I learned to embrace it because I did n’t have a choice, it also made me sad and frustrated. It was stunning to be diagnosed with a third, separate cancer (when I was diagnosed with bone cancer at 43). My whole world was reared further than I anticipated it to be with bone cancer. I wanted to take back my life as I cleared this cancer. I did n’t have a choice on hair loss during bone cancer, but I did during bone cancer. I chose to embrace that choice.
I used homemade caps so I can only speak to that process. (The other option is a crown- cooling system that has the cap attached to a small refrigeration machine that circulates coolants. These machines are bought by an infusion center.) Gel- filled caps at my clinic are stored in a freezer at-39 degrees F. When it’s time to wear the cap, you blarney the gel as much as you can so the cap fits to your head. The deep freeze should distribute unevenly on the crown. The cap should be strapped as tight as is sufferable to insure that the cold reaches all areas of the crown.
It’s important to note that cold cap remedy isn't applicable for all cancers. Different chemo medicines can also affect the success rate. The cold cap companies can help with details.
Pros I could go to work, out with musketeers, shopping — principally live a putatively normal life without having to partake or explain about cancer treatment. I ’ve always been veritably open about my cancer trip to help others, but there are times when I prefer it not to be at the van of my brain, and cold circumscribing helped with that.
Cons The first cap is cold! I recall feeling a little light- headed with the veritably first cap for the first 10 twinkles but refused to tell anyone because I was determined to use these caps! My crown ultimately got used to the deep freeze, and thankfully I handled the dispassionateness well. Each ( cold cap) company has a specific protocol for hair care between treatments. For mine, I awaited three days to wash my hair after treatment, also washed it every two to three days. I could water-soak my head on nonwash days if demanded. There's a lot of conservation between infusions minimum touching or brushing, no heat (I could use low-cold sot), and no ponytails, lacings, headdresses, or anything that will put stress on your crown and hair follicles.
Biggest Assignment Every cancer moment has tutored me to appreciate simple effects. Washing my hair with warm water, brushing my hair, wearing ponytails, playing with my hair, getting crown massages, wearing headdresses — none of this was allowed during cold circumscribing, since you do n’t want to add pressure or trauma to your hair follicles. I do n’t take these simple conduct for granted presently!
Advice for Other Women Passing Hair Loss Cold circumscribing is surely not for everyone. It takes work and commitment. There’s no guarantee it'll work, nor how important ( hair) you may or may not lose. But it gives you another option, which I ’m thankful for. I had a friend go through treatment shortly after me who chose not to cold cap and rather let her hair fall out. She made an informed decision that worked stylish for her! You do you.
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