Chemo May 2023 starters - A lament for my hair

A Lament for my hair

Farewell my long and shining hair,

With streaks of honey, red and gold.

I’ts all my natural colour, just the tiniest hints of grey, not bad for 65 years old!

It’s day 15 of Chemo 1 and I can see it’s time to part.

Longs strands, fall gently in my hands and I place them carefully down,

with reverence for their beauty, and sadness in my heart.

Those wretched drugs killed your well of nourishment and there’s nothing I can do.

Forgive me for forsaking you, but my ‘choice’ was do or die.

If I was to tell you otherwise then that would be a lie.

Farewell my long and shining hair until we meet again.

You’ve served me well in disguising my ears and hiding lumps and bumps I’d rather others didn’t see.

Now I must live without you. For how long? A mystery.

Perhaps you will return next Spring when the flowers bloom.

Let’s hope I will be better then and our life together can resume.

Until then I will protect the bed from which your growth has sprung,

keeping it cool on sunny days, and warm on Winter ones.

Replenishing your follicles with good food and moisturising creams,

so that when you do return to me it will be like a field of dreams.

Now tears are flowing down my cheeks, I can’t help but have s cry.

Farewell my long and shining hair,

It’s so very, very hard to say Goodbye.

Dedicated to all my brave fellow sufferers by Tulip29

Er+/HER2+ malignant ductal carcinoma diagnosed 24 March 2023

Started Chemo (EC) 15 May 2023

3 Likes

That’s beautifully expressed ,thank you for sharing .

@Tulip29 I love your creativity here. Thank you, I have a similar diagnosis but only on cycle 1 day 3.  Thank you for sharing.

Hello Suedot, thank you for your message and hope you are feeling OK. I have had 3 rounds of EC now and get a red rash on my face 31 hours after each one which I attribute to the Epiburicin. My hair stopped falling out after chemo 2 but has started growing again just recently. I do have a wig but it’s such a faff I tend to wear beanie hats most of the time. I did keep all my hair in a paper bag and look at it now and again. My last EC is scheduled for 24th July but EC 3 was delayed for a week so expecting this to happen again. Am now having a 3 day holiday visiting friends in Norwich which is doing me the power of good. Now starting to think about the next phase of treatment which is 1 year of Phesgo injections and 12 weeks of Paclitaxel. I don’t want the Paclitaxel due to risk of peripheral neuropathy which is high as I already have type 1 diabetes and I am nervous about the Phesgo and would prefer the Trastuzamab alone and only for 6 months. I  think my next oncology appointment on Thursday is going to be difficult! Love from Tulip x