Another round of chemo, no hair, new wig - lots happening

CHEMO DAY:   So yesterday (April 7th) I had my second round of chemotherapy.  My friend Julie Thompson made the trek down to Northwestern for the day (THANK YOU JULIE).  We had blood work, a visit to the chemo  oncologist and then the chemo itself.  Round 2 was a few hours shorter than round 1 so that was GREAT!  We were on the road home by 3pm ish!  Door to door, round trip was only about 8 hours so better than I had warned my chemo buddy about. The chemo day itself if fairly painless if you don't mind the needles. And Northwestern is very progressive these days, and on Thursdays they have a wandering acupuncture lady. I spent about a half hour with Wendy, as she put i needles to prevent expected nausea, dryness and sinus issues that I experienced after the first round; and she did some acupuncture needles to reduce anxiety and help me sleep. I have done acupuncture for my back many times before, and I love it, and on chemo days it's all FREE!  Huge Bonus!  Then we had a nice lunch and then watched Twilight while we waited for the chemo to finish.   My oncologist had great news as well- by the time I met the oncologist 2 weeks ago my mass had grown to 10x9 cm; after only one round of chemo my mass is roughly 7x5 and has harder to define borders.  So it went from 90 sq cm to only 35 sq cm in 3 weeks- so the CHEMO is working, and working WELL!  By the time I have my mastectomy it may not even appear that I have cancer, which will be ideal for them to do it well and get safe margins. I don't have exact dates on surgery, but last chemo is June 30th, and so they said to expect my surgery sometime in late July or early August. That pushes radiation up to Sept/half Oct, so I'll be getting my break around late October, perfect timing for Halloween and the holiday season. I'll then start reconstruction in February-ish. 

Post chemo:  The next few days I am expecting to be recovering mostly at home, as the drugs work their way through my system.  The symptoms I had in round 1 lasted about a week, and some days weren't that bad. By day 8 or 9 following the first round I felt great and went to the Poi Dog concert at the local theater and bowled the following night.  So I am hoping round 2 is similar, where i am down a week and then have two good weeks before we roll again with it.

BYE BYE HAIR:   Last Friday on April 1st I went to pick up my special order wig, given I am cranially challenged. Many of you reading this probably have a head circumference around 21 inches or so (aside from my siblings and cousins of course - ha ha )... Mine came in slightly larger than 23 (and my mom said her and my dad have heads over 24 so I guess mine is small, relatively, kind of like how i am the shortest one in my family of 6 despite coming in at 5'10 1/2"); so none of the wigs in the catalog fit me. I always knew I had a big noggin, so not a huge surprise. So I was forced to splurge on a custom made, real hair, large cap wig, and boy do I love it.  My appointment last Friday started rough, as I was worried about getting my buzz cut.  She cut it super short but didnt' shave it.  THEN she pulled out my wig, and I LOVE IT!  It is the antithesis of my normal wild hair... my new hair comes from an Indonesian lady, it's long, straight, silky, brown and has subtle red highlights. I was originally planning to have it cut to shoulder length but after seeing it I couldn't do it. I can go back to have it restyled and cut later if I change my mind, but for now you might notice me running around town with my long hair and glasses, hiding out incognito.  I had coffee outside Starbucks last Saturday, donning the wig and big glasses, and I had some folks I know walk right by me- it was kind of fun to be undercover. 

My scalp was  little sore all week from the hair coming out, but is feeling better now, so I plan to wear it more often (which is a huge relief to the kids as they haven't fully bought into my collection of pirate head wraps yet).  My friend Nadine has been down this road before and gave me her half wig, yep the u-turn (aka cul de sac) you may have seen or heard of, where I have the bottom half of my hair and wear a hat or scarf with it- another cute style- also in straight silky hair, so another fun one to wear.

It was a funny day getting my head shaved and my new wig. I was cross when I arrived at the wig studio to meet my mom. The appointment started late, it was rainy, not a great start. But the stylist there was a ton of fun and it ended up being a great day.  I ABSOLUTELY love my wig- it's so fun to have something so opposite of your norm.  I would love wigs to come into style again so I can just build up the collection and go this easy route. maybe I'll just have my own fashion and become my own wig lady - ha ha ha.  And I think I look pretty good with shorter hair- who would've thunk it! -so now I think I may try some shorter hair do's once my hair starts coming back. 

I will post some photos off to the right of my day at the wig salon and also my first few outing with my new locks. 

BALD DOME:  My hair is now TOTALLY GONE!  Last night we shaved off the last of the short buzz I had gotten the week before. The kids and Brian shaved me down to the scalp, so I am now OFFICIALLY BALD.  Kind of a wild look! I wouldn't call it a good look, but it made me think of several Halloween costumes for the coming fall so this might be a big Oct 31 for me this year.  I could paint my body a  slimy shade of green and go as an alien with my bald head :)  If you have other bald head ideas don't be shy... pass them along! 

MY SILVER LININGS from this past week or so....  
WIGS ROCK!!! 
Chemo 2 was shorter and easier than Chemo 1; lets hope this is a trend*
Free acupuncture!
Fun day hanging out with my friend, without kid interruptions, watching movies on a Thursday afternoon!
The community I live in is AMAZING- I cannot thank all my friends and neighbors for their generosity with meals, groceries, carpool, donations to the Y-ME race, unexpected breakfasts, gifts, cards, magazines- you spoil me- and I THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU- these unexpected treats make each day brighter! 


GAME ON:  The game is in full swing- I think I am kicking the cancer's ass at this point!  I don't have the exact score but I am planning for it to be a complete shut out in the end.
Thank you to everyone who has been here for me!
Love,
Mickie