My name is Jen and I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in Jan. 2009. I've been thru chemo and lost my beautiful, long, blond hair during treatment. I still have the braid that was cut from the nape of my neck before it all fell out; the braid measures 18 3/4" long! My sweet 12 year old neice told me "Aunt Jen, if you're going to lose all your hair, cut it off short and dye it green so when it falls out, you'll hate it anyways!" So I did! And it was a cute look that I was only able to sustain for about 2 weeks before it started coming out in chunks. At that point, I shaved it all off and sported the bald look. At first, I wore wigs and hats and bandanas, but found the strength to be bald...for a woman of only 35 years old, that's a very hard thing. My husband and some friends also shaved their heads or cut their hair to support me in my fight and it meant the world to me. I've had people stare at me and I've lost my temper sometimes and told them off. I've also had little kids come up to me asking me candidly why I didn't have any hair, which I respected the most. I also had a toddler at a wedding ask his mom to bring him up to me so that he could tell me that I'm beautiful! I about cried. My hair has started to grow back and it's about 3 inches long now, coming in a different color with a cute upwards curl along my neck, when before my hair was bone-straight. I now work for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in the School and Youth program which gives me the opportunity to teach young kids about blood cancer, the effects of chemo, and how they can help find better treatments so nobody had to ever go thru that kind of experience and I use my braid as a visual tool to show them just how drastic it was when I lost my hair. Bald is beautiful. And remember, losing your hair is way better than losing your life.
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My name is Jen and I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in Jan. 2009. I've been thru chemo and lost my beautiful, long, blond hair during treatment. I still have the braid that was cut from the nape of my neck before it all fell out; the braid measures 18 3/4" long! My sweet 12 year old neice told me "Aunt Jen, if you're going to lose all your hair, cut it off short and dye it green so when it falls out, you'll hate it anyways!" So I did! And it was a cute look that I was only able to sustain for about 2 weeks before it started coming out in chunks. At that point, I shaved it all off and sported the bald look. At first, I wore wigs and hats and bandanas, but found the strength to be bald...for a woman of only 35 years old, that's a very hard thing. My husband and some friends also shaved their heads or cut their hair to support me in my fight and it meant the world to me. I've had people stare at me and I've lost my temper sometimes and told them off. I've also had little kids come up to me asking me candidly why I didn't have any hair, which I respected the most. I also had a toddler at a wedding ask his mom to bring him up to me so that he could tell me that I'm beautiful! I about cried. My hair has started to grow back and it's about 3 inches long now, coming in a different color with a cute upwards curl along my neck, when before my hair was bone-straight. I now work for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in the School and Youth program which gives me the opportunity to teach young kids about blood cancer, the effects of chemo, and how they can help find better treatments so nobody had to ever go thru that kind of experience and I use my braid as a visual tool to show them just how drastic it was when I lost my hair. Bald is beautiful. And remember, losing your hair is way better than losing your life.
February 18, 2010 - 10:14amThis Comment
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