A Hair Update

I haven't been here as often as I used to because there's nothing much to say. That's good, right? But for those of you who are actually following my journey, I decided to ask my eldest daughter, Anissa, to take a photo of my hair now. I had to send it to my stylist because I wanted her to see and figure out how to style it. 

OH.MY.GOSH. 

This is the first time I'm staring at it. I know that it's growing back curly but I didn't know just how it looked until now. I'm speechless. A part of me is so grateful and feels blessed because of all the hair that's growing back. But I've never had hair this curly (wavy aka sponghado, yes) and I really don't know how to maintain it. 

My "sisters" over at I Can Serve Foundation tell me this is usually the case when the hair is just starting to grow back after chemo. I also Googled and learned about what you call chemo curls. The curly hair is actually the result of all the damage the chemo did to the cells that determine hair texture (didn't even know those kinds of cells existed!). The article I read also states that most patients find that their hair eventually goes back to the way it was or close to what it was prior to chemo. 

I don't want to sound ungrateful but ... I'm praying my hair straightens out a bit eventually! 

For now, I'd have to see how my stylist can work on it to make the curls a little less "out there". 

Will update you all again as soon as I've fixed this! 

What a difference a month makes

A month ago today, I posted this photo ...

It's raw and I didn't use any filters. I wanted everyone to see how my hair is growing back. Can you see all the grays (upper left)? That's a d*mb question. Of course you can see them! There are way too many! I'm just so glad I organic hair color that I can buy over-the-counter anytime I need it.

Fast forward to today. It's been exactly one month since the photo above was taken. Here is what my hair looks like now (photo taken less than 24 hours ago).

4 weeks and my hair looks and feels and IS thicker already!

If you're in chemo right now, eyes on the prize! This is life after chemo for me. This is going to be your life too!

I'm still here!

I guess this is what happens when your life returns to normal after chemo treatments. You forget that you have a blog about breast cancer and you go on with your life. That's still a good thing, isn't it? Sorry for being away for a while. I've been quite busy with my main blog, which I migrated to another site. I bought my own domain (been blogging since 2005!) and even got and paid for a web designer to re-do my site's overall look. 

THIS is where my main blog is, if anyone is interested to follow. Yes, I have a life and a busy one at that! 

It's been quiet on the breast cancer front though. I'm on Tamoxifen still and my next Oncologist visit is up (early June). My hair has grown steadily since the last post. It's my eyelashes that are coming back ever so slowly, I'm being really patient about this. It's alright, I've gotten the hang of using false lashes and I actually have 4 different pairs of them for every situation/occasion hee hee. But hair is coming back everywhere! I think I've forgotten how to use a razor hahaha! 

There IS something specific I would like to share though, to those of you whose hair is growing back like mine but need to dye all the grey hairs coming out. I'm told this is a common problem for us survivors. I recently walked into the PCX branch in Power Plant Mall and was looking at all the available hair dyes on their shelves. I was somewhat disappointed that I couldn't find a brand that was either organic or all-natural. Until ... 

The one on the extreme left (green packaging, black dye) is the only one that's labeled as ORGANIC. All the others are colored and don't have the same label on the pack. It just says NATURAL. Just as well because I needed the black one. I picked up a pack and was pleasantly surprised to find that it only costs P50.00 each (P60.00 each for the colored ones). And since my hair has not grown back totally, I really needed just one sachet. I went home, followed the instructions and was happy with what I saw. 

The dye can last up to 3 weeks. I'm practically due for a re-touch. Thanks to this, I can finally stop wearing bandanas and go G.I. Jane! 

Have a Happy Thursday! 

Hair Update

Exactly 7 weeks after my last chemo cycle, this is what my head looks like

I don't check everyday so I was really super happy while staring at these photos. I can't believe I've got strands and strands of hair again. Short strands, but strands nonetheless! 

Another 3 or so months and I'll probably be going to my stylist to have my first post-chemo haircut. 

PRAISE GOD!

Can't wait, can't wait!

Hair Update

More than 4 months since my very first chemo cycle and exactly 2 weeks since the 6th and last, here is what my head looks like 

Not bad, huh? I mean, just don't look at all the grey strands (if you can see them). I consider myself fortunate that the hair started to grow back even before treatments ended, and even when my Onco said some of it might still fall off. None of them did :) 

I can't wait to have a full head of hair again. Right now, I can't really tell what my hair's going to be like. They say it won't be the same as before, it never is. Staring at this photo, it looks like it's going to be wavy bordering on curly. We'll just have to wait and see!

It's finally the weekend! I hope you all have a good one. I know I will. 

God bless us all ... 

Hello There, Hair!

I haven't been saying much about my hair growth because I wanted to be absolutely sure I wasn't jinxing anything. I noticed that my scalp started to look slightly darker than usual, right before my 5th chemo cycle last January 31st. I told my Onco about it and she said it will shed some more because I wasn't done with treatments yet. I was okay with that, not really disappointed. But I watched and waited and didn't notice any shedding at all. In fact, I have more hair than the day I first noticed that it was coming back. Here's the latest photo of my nicely-shaped head (yeah I'm really proud of this fact) taken this morning, just a half hour ago to be exact. 

I used a filter just to highlight because you really wouldn't be able to see much from the way my small walk-in bathroom area is lit. Have I noticed any changes in my hair? People have told me that after treatments, your hair could grow differently from what you've been used to all your life. Some had straight hair prior to Cancer and got curly hair after chemo. Some say it's the other way around. A few have said that when their hair started to grow, everything was gray! But the most common I've heard so far is that the hair feels brand new, soft to the touch, like freshly-grown hair on a baby's head. Interesting. I can't say that for sure yet, still too short at this point. I'm just so glad I can see it coming back, slowly but surely. I do notice some parts that are growing out gray, but it's nothing new to me. I had been coloring my roots for years before my diagnosis. Premature gray hair runs in the family (thanks, Daddy! haha!). So it's not like I was shocked and got depressed when I saw all the gray hairs come out. So used to them already. 

Time to start seriousy looking at organic hair colour in boxes! I've seen a few brands on the shelves of Healthy Options stores. I need to read up and ask around for the most recommended brand and grab my very first box soon. 

Have a happy Saturday y'all!