Reality, Staff Support and More

The misconceptions about cancer, chemo and side effects are amazing!  Firstly, most people expect chemo patients to get very thin and haggard looking. The opposite is usually true--85% of chemo patients gain weight because fatigue causes lack of activity and steroids and other chemicals in treatment causes a ton of bloat and fluid retention--5-15lb. weight gain is common so as if you aren't feeling awful enough you are now fat and bald!!!  Lovely--also the hair loss is immediate and startling--within 2 weeks of your first treatment hair falls out by the handfuls--I chose to shave my head to 1/8 of an inch so it wouldn't be so horrid when it came out but truly it comes out more and more as the treatment goes on--and secondly as I have said earlier the side effect of lymphedema is the most awful of all--the fewer lymph nodes they take the less your chance is of getting this dreaded disease so everyone fight your surgeon and make sure you are in control of what they do during surgery--my surgeon squeezed me in somewhere between his probably 10 other surgeries that day-not complaining--his quick action kept me out of Stage 3--barely, but I was so close and then the fight is much harder. But IF you have a chance--research all possible options and side effects before having any surgery like this!  And finally many supporters offer to shave their heads in unity--I say why should we ALL look awful? So some of my staff supports me in a different way!  See photo :

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weight gain is common so as I am not feeling awful enough I am now fat and bald. Lovely also the hair loss is immediate and startling within 2 weeks of our first treatment hair falls out by the handfuls.