It's Chemical Warfare Now! (Post #22)

 

Spot the hairdresser extraordinaire in the mirror!

The Contenders

The Winner!

Everyone should have a Karen in their life. No, not that kind of Karen, we already have too many of those, I mean a Kind Karen. (Incidentally, all the Karens I know personally are kind, so maybe they should find a different name? I mean, I know more problematic Heathers! 😇) Karen is my hairdresser; she's also a good friend,  the "I want her in my corner" type of friend, and on Friday she certainly was a blessing. I arranged an appointment with The Wig Boutique for Friday afternoon and mentioned it during the "Hacking of the Hair" appointment with her on Tuesday. There was a heartbeat of silence, as we both assimilated the gravity of that information, and then she spoke up, "Want me to come?" Is Big Bird Yellow? (To quote my surgeon. 😊) Though I would never have asked. I mean, my daughter was planning on coming with me, but since I buy most of her clothes, her input might have been less than helpful. As a matter of fact, when we realized that I was only allowed to have one person accompany me her response was, "And you think you're gonna take my opinion over Karen's?"  Good point, dear, good point. 😄 (That would be a solid "no.") And so we met on Friday, and to sum up an appointment that took well over an hour, I didn't even try on any of the wigs on my pre-appointment online shopping list (apparently I'm a blond octogenarian at heart...who knew) but ended up with the wig that Karen spotted upon entering the boutique. Speaking of which, The Wig Boutique has very high ratings, and I assure you, these positive reviews are well-earned. The staff is incredible, (and both women working on Friday had Alopecia, so they get it) their selection is varied and suitable for all ages and stages, and seriously, have you ever had a retailer show you the clearance merchandise first?!? 🤯

On the left is my ponytail, saved from the Hacking of the Hair 

appointment. On the right is my wig. Can your hairdresser remember 

your hair color, even after it's gone? Mine can.😊

So about the wigs. When I looked on Amazon, I was amazed at how cheap they were! Then they arrived and I was amazed at how cheap they were! 😑 Ergo, my decision to check out The Wig Boutique. Well-made wigs are not inexpensive, but my hair grows very slowly, so I'm pretty sure I'll get my money's worth out of it. Besides, even if I pay every time Karen and I hit up Starbucks or McDonalds' in the interim, I will still be saving money on haircuts! (Fine, root touch-ups...whatever 🙄) I walked out with something completely different than anticipated, and I love it! Love that I'll be losing all my hair? Not so much. Actually, not at all. There is a distinctive lump in my throat as I gather Bobby pins and hair elastics from random places around the house. While shopping on Amazon, I was amazed at the number of people who wear wigs just to change their look. "I have shorter hair, but some days I want long hair, so I just wear a wig."  What?!? That's a thing?! What a sheltered life I've led. I'm not sure if I'm vain enough to wear a wig just to change my look, even the more well-made wigs aren't what I would consider comfortable. 🤔 

Speaking of comfortable, a friend of mine shared an interesting thought the other day. When God returned to heaven, He told His disciples that He would send them a Comforter, and He did. I've experienced the comfort only He can give firsthand, most recently while in ICU. But notice that God didn't send us a Comfort-enabler. His goal wasn't to make us more comfortable, but that we could experience His presence at all times. Sometimes He is our conscience, which can be the antithesis of comfortable, and sometimes He brings us comfort, as stated in 2 Corinthians 1:3&4:

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 

the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 

who comforts us in all our troubles, 

so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort 

we ourselves receive from God."

I'm glad I have the Comforter, as on Monday morning, at 11:15am, I will receive my first chemo infusion of TCH over 5.5 hours. (Taxotere/docetaxel, Paraplatin/carboplatin, and Herceptin/trastuzumab) I could look at this as my first intentional poisoning session, because that's essentially what it is, or I could look at it as a declaration of chemical warfare against my enemy, cancer. This pink warrior is going with the latter. Just as in a war, some of the "good guys" are going to die; in chemotherapy that's what results in side effects, as good cells are also harmed. But as in a successful war, more "bad guys" (cancer cells) are obliterated, and victory is declared. I can hardly wait! Here's praying there are no incidents of "friendly fire," otherwise known as allergic reactions to any of the bajillion medications. (They still haven't quite decided why I landed in ICU post-surgery, but one theory is that I had an allergic reaction.) Honestly, I'm praying that I'll be the most boring patient, ever!

And so we have the cooler packed:

• frozen booties
• frozen mittens
• sport drinks
• Gerolsteiner sparkling water (Having cancer is expensive! 😉)
• snacks
• snacks
• snacks

Oh, the frozen booties and mittens? Yeah, not looking forward to using those...😖 Chemotherapy drugs can cause peripheral neuropathy, a fancy word for nerve damage to your hands and feet causing weakness, numbness, and pain. Pretending that my extremities have been touched by Elsa from Frozen constricts the blood vessels in my hands and feet, limiting the effects of chemo. It's okay, if it doesn't work, I'll just let it go. (Sorry, sorry...I'll stop.😁) 

On Friday I received a call from my Nurse Navigator for one last chat before she closes my file. As I'm now a patient at the Cross Cancer Institute, I'm no longer a participant in the Comprehensive Breast Program. As someone who takes comfort in the familiar, closing this chapter of my treatment is both exhilarating and terrifying. It means that the surgery is behind me (Finally!) and that the next phase is beginning. As I face uncertainty, I am assured of one thing:

"My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak,

    but God remains the strength of my heart;

    He is mine forever."

Psalm 73:26