I have a feeling the easy bit is over

Yes I kept the pony tail and put it with the one I cut off when I went from waist length to shoulder length aged 14. I tend to keep silly things. Viv :)

Thanks Viv. I have been joking that I would go to the $2 Shop & buy a whole heap of funny wigs to wear to work each day. I also borrowed an Amy Winehouse wig to wear to a fancy dress party. It suited me, so maybe I should buy one! :) It would be good to keep it fun. I already have some hats & scarves. Don't know yet if I should get a nice wig or not. Did you keep your hair when you had it cut off?

Hi Meredyth, I finished 18 weeks chemo in May, and the hair loss seemed like the toughest thing to face but it has turned out OK. I have turned it into a game. I have had long hair since I was a small child so had no idea what short hair would look like, let alone no hair. I had it cut before it fell and got so many compliments on the short bob that I realised it might work out OK. Throughout my chemo I made a game of playing dress- ups with hats and scarves so instead of pitying looks, I got compliments on looking so stylish. By the end of treatment I wanted to pass for 'normal' so started wearing wigs most of the time: a free cancer council one and three others I bought on line for around $40 each. So again it is a game, as my wigs are different styles and colours. People I work with say they like to speculate on what colour I will be each day, it seems to give them a fun and accessible way to acknowledge that I am going through something, and we can have a laugh about it. My hair is growing now, soft and nice to feel, but a sort of mousy nothing colour combined with lots of grey, so I am sticking with the wigs for a bit longer at work. I did spend the day bare- headed on Sunday for the first time and no one seemed to notice much. So yes it is traumatic, but my way of coping was to turn it into a game. Now I plan to keep playing with styles and colours when it grows back. For most of us I think it is just about the biggest challenge, but we all find a way to cope and I'm sure you will find the way that works for you, but there will be tears first! Viv xxx

Hi Meredyth, I finished 18 weeks chemo in May, and the hair loss seemed like the toughest thing to face but it has turned out OK. I have turned it into a game. I have had long hair since I was a small child so had no idea what short hair would look like, let alone no hair. I had it cut before it fell and got so many compliments on the short bob that I realised it might work out OK. Throughout my chemo I made a game of playing dress- ups with hats and scarves so instead of pitying looks, I got compliments on looking so stylish. By the end of treatment I wanted to pass for 'normal' so started wearing wigs most of the time: a free cancer council one and three others I bought on line for around $40 each. So again it is a game, as my wigs are different styles and colours. People I work with say they like to speculate on what colour I will be each day, it seems to give them a fun and accessible way to acknowledge that I am going through something, and we can have a laugh about it. My hair is growing now, soft and nice to feel, but a sort of mousy nothing colour combined with lots of grey, so I am sticking with the wigs for a bit longer at work. I did spend the day bare- headed on Sunday for the first time and no one seemed to notice much. So yes it is traumatic, but my way of coping was to turn it into a game. Now I plan to keep playing with styles and colours when it grows back. For most of us I think it is just about the biggest challenge, but we all find a way to cope and I'm sure you will find the way that works for you, but there will be tears first! Viv xxx

Thanks for your reply Jenny.  

 I feel a bit silly being so emotional about such a vanity as hair but the thought of saying goodbye to it makes me cry every time I think about it.  
I think I probably should cut it before it falls out.  Maybe the least traumatic of my options.  

I'm really glad to hear that you are on the other side of chemo now. It's very comforting to know there is 'the other side' to all this.  I've had so much information thrown at me in such a short space of time.  

I think too that up until now, it hasn't quite felt real.  Yes, I've just had three surgeries but I've been in hospital and had surgeries before, so that's not really a new experience for me.  At the moment, I'm bruised and sore but I don't feel or look sick.  I know once I have that first chemo treatment, all that will change pretty quickly.  I have a colleague who has recently finished her chemo and she told me that once she started chemo, she couldn't hide her cancer from anyone.  Her appearance immediately gave her away, even on the days she didn't feel so bad.  That will be hard.  Seeing my condition reflected back to me in the looks on people's faces.  

i totally agree with you.  This is a club no one wants to join.  Although, I suspect it is a club that will give as much as it takes.  I know I won't be the same person at the end of my cancer journey but I am hoping I will be a better one. :)  xx

Thanks for your reply Jenny.  

 I feel a bit silly being so emotional about such a vanity as hair but the thought of saying goodbye to it makes me cry every time I think about it.  
I think I probably should cut it before it falls out.  Maybe the least traumatic of my options.  

I'm really glad to hear that you are on the other side of chemo now. It's very comforting to know there is 'the other side' to all this.  I've had so much information thrown at me in such a short space of time.  

I think too that up until now, it hasn't quite felt real.  Yes, I've just had three surgeries but I've been in hospital and had surgeries before, so that's not really a new experience for me.  At the moment, I'm bruised and sore but I don't feel or look sick.  I know once I have that first chemo treatment, all that will change pretty quickly.  I have a colleague who has recently finished her chemo and she told me that once she started chemo, she couldn't hide her cancer from anyone.  Her appearance immediately gave her away, even on the days she didn't feel so bad.  That will be hard.  Seeing my condition reflected back to me in the looks on people's faces.  

i totally agree with you.  This is a club no one wants to join.  Although, I suspect it is a club that will give as much as it takes.  I know I won't be the same person at the end of my cancer journey but I am hoping I will be a better one. :)  xx