Hello to you all

Staycalm

Just thought I should introduce myself before wandering off into other conversations. Married to lovely man, have 15 year old daughter struggling with anxiety and depression. Librarian working casually part time (choosing not to work during chemo). Two dogs and two cats. Into reading, listening to podfic and podcasts, researching on the internet, family history. Got plans to make up pieces from my Harry Potter and Hobbit Lego collections and some jigsaws while home. 

I received my cancer diagnosis on the 5 Jan this year after a very anxious Christmas and New Year. Since then there have been all the tests, appontments and I had my first chemo on 23 Jan. My lump is apparently one of the hormonally driven fast growing ones so I'll be having 6 months of chemo to reduce it in size, surgery, and then whatever followups come later. Prognosis is good at this point.

I'm at Peter Mac and they've been brilliant. Amazing service and their new building is spectacular. First chemo went ok. Felt really horrid on the night after but I think it was the heat and perhaps some stress got to me. After the first few days I have been very well, very determined and very positive. I've felt very energised. Been able to get the house into a less chaotic condition. Cleaning and sorting like crazy. My husband has been able to get 3 months paid leave in order to support both me and our daughter. I am very lucky that things seem to be falling into place to allow us to give our situation our full attention. 

Today my hair is dropping out much more than usual so I guess the bald side is making it's presence known. I've been buying lovely scarves and stuff from the opshops.  Hopefully someone will show me what to do with them as I have no idea!

Unicornkisses

Welcome, Staycalm. You have come to the right place. I am very sorry though that you have had to find yourself here, joining us.
I was diagnosed on Christmas Eve and had to wait though the holiday period for an appointment with the surgeon. 
This is the worst part, the waiting.
How great that the a chemo seems to be okay for you, it is so hard to predict how you will react to it. I start mine in a couple of weeks and while I want to get it over with, I am not looking forward to it.
regarding the scarves, I googled "making a scarf into a turban" and it brought up some great videos and pictures of how to make them. 
The other thing I have is one of those hair towel turbans for after washing your hair, I am going to use that as a template for making some out of pretty material. It is pretty simple in design, I know you can get them in Big W

Staycalm

Thanks Unicornkisses. I hope your chemo goes well too. I think I was just so programmed to feel horrible that when I realised it wasn't so bad it gave me a real boost. I just have to be prepared to not feel like this for much longer so it's a good incentive to stay busy and be proactive towards the times when I will feel like crap.

The other thing I've done is cull all my old stained or holed tshirts to set aside a few of the nice soft ones to make into headcovers. I have all sorts of stuff now so maybe a few days watching some of those YouTube Videos will be coming up. 

Brenda5

Welcome Staycalm. Sounds like you are on track to beating this.

rowdy

Welcome to the site yes the waiting can be hard. Your daughter can contact Canteen, they now give support to children who has a parent going through cancer. If I remember they have a online site, anything is worth a try it might help your daughter. Making head covers will keep you busy, I brought cheap scarves and watched a utube video. Also ask about the look good feel good program a good day. Sending you a hug xx

Zoffiel

Headwear is a pain in summer,  it takes a certain amount of confidence to walk around bald ( sometimes I can, sometimes I don't want to) wigs are too hot in summer and scarves can do all sorts of unpredictable things. I've found myself looking like a deranged Jack Sparrow with a scarf at an odd angle and unmatched earrings.

Anyway, in desperation I ended up ordering a batch of different self tied scarves from the US. They were not cheap.The main motivation was to figure out how they were made. This pattern is my fave, it's basically a ribbing hat with a tube of fabric attached. So comfy and it even works under a motorbike helmet. Takes me about 20 mins to make and the ribbing is the most expensive bit. Op shop scarves work very well for the 'tail'.

Excuse my selfie skills, a Kardashian I ain't. I'll post the pattern when I figure out the best way to do that.

Zoffiel

PS, I'm a librarian too. We're good at figuring stuff out, you have time to learn the language. Looking at the pic of the scarf it would seem some library folk can keep their collections in order but refuse to iron. At least I put a shirt on

RNSW

Hi @Staycalm, Welcome! The time will go quick and you will finish your 6 months of chemo in no time. At the beginning I felt dawnted but surprisingly it flew. I wasn't good with scarfs so I wore fedoras Wishing you the best. Rita xo 

Afraser

I bought a couple of fedora type straw hats (actually made of paper - really soft) online. I still wear them from time to time. Nothing like a nifty hat to cheer you up! Looked great with added scarves too. 

Cosette

rowdy said:

Welcome to the site yes the waiting can be hard. Your daughter can contact Canteen, they now give support to children who has a parent going through cancer. If I remember they have a online site, anything is worth a try it might help your daughter. Making head covers will keep you busy, I brought cheap scarves and watched a utube video. Also ask about the look good feel good program a good day. Sending you a hug xx

CanTeen is an excellent resource for young people affected by cancer. They have a lot of great resources on their website at https://www.canteen.org.au/.

Zoffiel said:

Headwear is a pain in summer,  it takes a certain amount of confidence to walk around bald ( sometimes I can, sometimes I don't want to) wigs are too hot in summer and scarves can do all sorts of unpredictable things. I've found myself looking like a deranged Jack Sparrow with a scarf at an odd angle and unmatched earrings.

I wear headscarves occasionally. The trick to keeping them in place is a grip band. If you want to see some impressive styles and tutorials, check out http://www.wrapunzel.com/, Most of these ladies are using headwraps for religious or cultural reasons, but it has attracted the attention of women who have experienced hair loss as a result of cancer treatment.

joolsmundy

Hi,
I also was diagnosed on Christmas eve and after a lumpectomy and a further re-excision I finally had my first chemo (ac) on 1/3. I decided to try to make a bit of "fun"  (as much as you can) about losing my hair and went out and got a couple of wigs. So far, I still have hair but I.m sure i'll get the chance to try them out soon. I'll be keeping an eye on this conversation to find some nifty ways of doing the scarves also. Good luck

primek

Welcome. I was diagnosed around Xmas last year so can fully understand how hard that was for you. But here I am 12 months on and feeling pretty healthy now with my treatment finished and awaiting completion of my reconstruction next month.

melclarity

@Staycalm Welcome!! it is a journey we all wish we never had to be a part of,but here we are! You are in excellent company, a wealth of courage, knowledge, experience and good humor! Sounds like you are well on our way and taking it all in your stride. I did wigs only scarves sometimes as for me I wanted to look as normal as possible. Amazing how quickly you get used to it all. Just remember through Chemo it is a time of healing too for you body, make sure you equally stop rest and just nurture you through it, so important. Hugs Melinda xo