anybody out there?

Thanks Tanya. I looked up your profile and laughed out loud about the baldy head posts. Count down to my own hair loss in 4 weeks. It should nicely coincide my my son's first day of prep, so will be an interesting time for all. I'm actually a quiet person and don't like attention so the hairloss thing in becoming an issue for me as there is no hidng. Did you do the wig thing or bald is beautiful the entire time or did it just evolve? 

cheers majella  

What a lovely story Leanne, thank you so much for sharing. My mum was diagnosed about 10 years ago with dcis and chose to have a bi lateral mastectomy, which was lucky as there was even more cancer in the breast that they didnt want to remove.  All her sisters have had cancer of some form in their female organs and all have survived it. One aunt even endured chemo every monday for 52 weeks!  I may have inherited bad genes, but hopefully Ive also inherited their strength and fortitude. Best wishes to everyone  v

What a lovely story Leanne, thank you so much for sharing. My mum was diagnosed about 10 years ago with dcis and chose to have a bi lateral mastectomy, which was lucky as there was even more cancer in the breast that they didnt want to remove.  All her sisters have had cancer of some form in their female organs and all have survived it. One aunt even endured chemo every monday for 52 weeks!  I may have inherited bad genes, but hopefully Ive also inherited their strength and fortitude. Best wishes to everyone  v

What a lovely story Leanne, thank you so much for sharing. My mum was diagnosed about 10 years ago with dcis and chose to have a bi lateral mastectomy, which was lucky as there was even more cancer in the breast that they didnt want to remove.  All her sisters have had cancer of some form in their female organs and all have survived it. One aunt even endured chemo every monday for 52 weeks!  I may have inherited bad genes, but hopefully Ive also inherited their strength and fortitude. Best wishes to everyone  v

thanks daina!

I dreamt the other night that when my hair went my head looked like a conehead or a big humpty dumpty head. Someone I know has two sisters diagnosed a month between each other, but they are trying two different things. One is going the scarf way(apparantly there is shop in brisbane city that has beautiful scarves, she was told about the shop via kim walters choices program., the other sister going the wig. But what was interesting was that she said the wig let her go through shopping centres without the stares and she could relax. I never really thought about it that way, I thought it was more self image, so thinking maybe I could do both. I think I am obsessing over it, but want to be ready. My hairdresser up the road, will shave my head once the clumps start happening. She said they can do it out of hours and that many hairdressers will do this if you ask. Isn't there a collection centre that makes wigs from real hair that collect donated hair for this cause? Mine's a short bob, I wonder if they could do something with it?

Hi newby12, poppy7 and anniep - I am so glad you have all been able to connect and share your recent experiences and I hope others who have been before you can also offer you some support.

I would suggest having scan through the 'All posts' page of the online network to see if there are any topics of interest to you: http://www.bcna.org.au/node/all/blog/network

Also, you might find the Local Services Directory helpful if you are wanting services/support near you: http://www.bcna.org.au/sharing-support/find-services-your-area

If you need a hand finding your way around just shout.

~Daina

Yes.... get your hair cut. As you can see from my picture I had sholder length long hair... I had it cut in stages, trying different styles each time... seriously if it wasn't for BC I'd still have long hair, pulled back in a pony tail. It's liberating. Accepting that you are going to loose it is the hardest.  Now my hair has grown back short with some curl... I really like it... so much easier..I may keep it this way.

Hi Majella

First up I would recommend going to a Look Good, Feel Good session.... that way you can try before you buy... Second to that, I would recommend going to Starkles in the Myre Centre, City. (There's one at Carindale, but the Myre Centre is bigger and I found the assistant more helpful)

I have a wig but now find it too hot to wear.... it's like wearing a furry/woolie beenie... however, when I first lost my hair I needed it to feel/look 'normal'... it took a while to get use to the 'nude nut' look. Given the weather I'd go for a cotton bandana or try some pretty scarves.. a metre of material from Spot light or Lindcraft!!  I know some women who look absolutely stunning in them....

A friend of mine bought a couple of 'funky' wigs from a Wig Outlet Store in Yatala... so that could be worth a try as well...

Good luck.. and remember it's only for a short time. I started Chemo in May (lost my hair within two weeks of my first round) I finished 18 weeks of Chemo about the end of August... and now I just wear a cap or a hat. My hair is short and curly... but I still don't have a fringe!

keep smiling

Trina