Living & Coping

Day 88: Turning lemons into lemonade: My awesome head-shaving party!

If you or someone you know is dealing with hair loss from chemo, do what we just did:

Throw a head-shaving party!

Mine was awesome. We arranged a get-together at a salon downtown on an afternoon it was closed, with all the friends and family we could fit into the small space. My dear friend who owns the salon shaved my head, while we all joked and laughed, munched on appetizers, and drank wine (yes, you can drink alcohol when in chemo, but not green or herbal tea...crazy, I know!). It was an awesome afternoon and let me tell ya: We. Had. A. Blast! I highly recommend this approach for anyone dealing with hair loss from chemo. Laughter really is the best medicine for that!

Plus, I’m being completely honest when I say it felt liberating to have my head shaved. It’s been bumming me out to see my hair looking so thin in the mirror these last few days, and shaving it all off took that issue away. At one point I had a Mohawk, which sent us all into fits of laughter and cheers. Actual cheers! I loved every minute of it. I even pointed out, right there in the chair with my crazy Mohawk, how we need to relish moments like this. It was the best kind of togetherness there is – unified solidarity in the fight against cancer, with all of us looking my chemotherapy and hair loss right in the face…and laughing at it.

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