Missing my privacy

I also live in a small country town, where everyone knows everyone and everything. It is most likely that everyone knows you have BC already anyway. It will be your positive attitude that people respond to, more so than whether or not you have hair. The people in my small country town are what has got me through this - the meals, the help with kids, the bright cheerful words when I bump into people, the people to whinge to when I'm having a crap day. I think people will take your lead as to how they respond to you. Our community has been touched greatly by breast cancer with a gorgeous mum of 4 dying earlier in the year. Several of us have early stage breast cancer, or have had it in the past. The kids are all friends with each other at school - they all talk anyway. Cherish and embrace your small community. Let them in. People won't necessarily feel sorry for you but they will want to help you. It's what country people in small communities do.  It has taken me a long time to accept unreservedly their help, but it really has made all the difference to our lives over the past 6 months. I'm hosting a thank you open house / party in a few weeks as a small way to acknowledge those people...we could have 80 adults and 60 kids....will be crazy but I desperately want to acknowledge the role they all played in getting our family through chemo....and yet everyone is still bringing something to contribute to the food! 

If you'd rather not talk about your cancer and treatment every time you go to the shop or do school pick up, people will soon get the message...they'll follow your lead. If I'm having a day like that I give a very brief answer about how I'm going and then quickly change the subject and ask them something about their lives.  Best wishes as you go through the most awful stage of hair loss...once it's all gone you won't feel quite as traumatized as you do while losing it.