I may just have to take back all those blonde jokes...

While Melissa was getting her first hair trial done a woman and I struck up a conversation about Cancer and the loss of hair.  She told me her Grandpa had silver hair that all fell out when he was going through chemo--when it came back it was black and curly just like when he was a kid.

I had hopes for my hair to come in faster than normal....I mean, I have always had very fast growing hair--I haven't had chemo since July 4th, my eyebrows and eyelashes started coming back July 17th.

It was hard to see up until a day or so ago--my eyelashes were just so little -- but they are definitely blonde....Blonde....BLONDE!!??

And now, all of a sudden my legs are covered.  Completely covered with itty bitty blonde hairs.  Irritating little blonde hairs, silky mind you, but irritating.

I have always been a hairy girl...it's part of my heritage.  My genes dictate, hair lots of it and its always that I can remember been very coarse and thick.

When I was little--up until about 5 years of age, I had this golden brown hair (very similar to Melissa's colour, but blonder) about school age, it started to turn black, by the time I was 8 it was completely black like my Dad's.

When my hair started to go grey when I was 27 I started dying my hair back to the brown/black it had always been.

I made a deal with myself mostly--and Melissa that I would embrace whatever comes in, curly, straight, brown, black, white...but blonde??  Last night, it was hard to see, but I have a bit of a blonde halo, or aura around my head...my hair is coming back very, very slowly.

So, this deal with my hair was confirmed the other day at the cancer clinic.  They stated that the new hair that I will be growing should not be "dyed, bleached, or permed for the first year after it begins to grow back."  It is just too fragile.

Thank goodness I decided to embrace whatever it comes back as....but blonde?  Jeez.  That's going to be a tough one.

On the cancer front I am no longer using it as an means for a joke.  Like this:  I can't do dishes, I have cancer.  I need to find another thing to be funny about.  So, I can't do dishes I am bald...seems like it will only work for a couple more weeks.

So, Cancer survivor jokes it is!  How do you know you are a cancer survivor?  You are back on the family rotation to take out the garbage.  :)

I have never been on the family rotation...for garbage anyway.

I started radiation therapy August 1st in hopes that the sooner I started, the sooner I would be finished.  It seems that my final radiation appointment could be August 29th.  The best part of these dates is my Medical EI claim is done August 18th and work asked me to come back August 20th (or so).  Once again, God is faithful.  Work is willing to work around my radiation schedule and the cancer clinic is willing to work around my work schedule.

The only side effect of radiation I was warned about was fatique--so far, I haven't even noticed it.  Kent and I are still exhausted by the wedding planning and execution of said plans....  So it's hard to decipher if I am post-wedding tired or radiation tired....

I will keep you posted!

Since I started this blog earlier today, before our weekly breakfast date--I have taught those itty bitty leg hairs a lesson they won't soon forget.  I introduced them to my powerful friend....the razor.  :)