I'm ready for hair...(in the right places)

I know I acclimated to the losing the hair thing much better than I expected to, but it's getting old now. I'd like at least a little re-growth. I'm actually missing the buzz cut the hubby gave me when my hair starting falling out.

I've heard that some people's hair starts to grow back on Taxol (the drug I'm on now), but so far, I don't see anything.

Actually, what has happened is that my eyebrows and eyelashes have started to fall out.

Not my arm hair though.

And I need to shave my legs again.

Not fair.

Only 1 More Shot!

Whoopee!!!!!

I think I mentioned before that I've had to give myself an injection of Neulasta 24hrs after every treatment to keep my white blood cells high enough to keep getting chemo (i.e., to keep myself well enough to keep getting poisoned...). Anyway, I just talked to the nurse today and, of course, I don't need a Neulasta shot after my final treatment because it's the final one. (I should have figured this out myself, but didn't. Chalk it up to chemo brain.) So that means only 1 more. Yippee!!!

Estrogenius Festival Benefit - This Sunday!

ESTROGENIUS FESTIVAL BENEFIT -- SUNDAY, AUGUST 12th from 5 - 10 pm
Live Music! Manbake! Good Times! Celebrate the 2007 EstroGenius Festival on Sunday, August 12th from 5 pm until 10 pm. Meet and greet Team Estro -- the producers, designers, writers, actors, dancers, and many other people. Hear live music by Athena Reich, Sarah Tracey, The Manson Family Singers, Mark Aaron James, Nancy Sirianni & Doug Silver and Jonathan Holtzman. Enjoy yummy treats (cookies, cakes, pies) baked by the Men of Manhattan Theatre Source at the EstroGenius Festival Benefit. A manbake like no other!

Manhattan Theatre Source
177 MacDougal St. (between W 8th St. & Waverly Place)
Subway: A/C/E or B/D/F/V to W 4th
5 pm until 10 pm
Tix: $10 | $5 for Estro participants

All proceeds benefit the EstroGenius Festival, the premier showcase for female creativity, running September 19 through October 13 at Manhattan Theatre Source. Check it out at www.estrogenius.org.

One of the many injustices of this whole thing...

The steroids they give you to stave off the nausea of chemo can actually cause you to GAIN weight.

So, for those of you who were wondering if I've suddenly dropped a bunch of weight, the answer is no.

I am happy to report, though, that I've managed not to gain any. Probably out of pure stubbornness.

Between the nausea from treatments 3 & 4 and the deranged tastebuds my eating habits have been, shall we say, a bit weird.

Not One, But Two...

My mom and I went to the theatre last night and, as we were coming out the ladies' room, we saw not one, but two women sitting on the chaise lounge OUTSIDE the bathroom flossing their teeth.

Which reminded me of a day about a year ago when I was walking through SoHo and the Village and saw a guy go by on a bicycle with a parrot on his shoulder. When he passed, I realized I had walked by a woman with a parrot on her shoulder about a 1/2 hour before. The weird part was, I hadn't really noticed her, she was just part of the NYC scenery. It wasn't until I saw the guy on the bike that something in my brain went, "Wait a minute, that's the SECOND parrot you've seen today" and the image of the first parrot popped into my head.

Which is all to say that when you live and/or work in NYC, seeing one weird thing isn't enough to phase you, you have to see at least two before you even notice.

Flashing!

Welcome to the latest chemo side effect: hot flashes!

Yes, chemotherapy actually puts you in menopause (or, as the gals on YSC like to call it, "chemo-pause").

The "pause" part happened right away, if ya get what I mean, but the hot flashes, thankfully, held off until about 2 nights ago. They seem to be a little better today.

The hubby is actually happy about it because we've always had, shall we say, a difference of opinion about the ambient temperature and, more specifically, what temperature is "comfortable." He's hopeful that now I'll be more understanding of his A/C addiction. We'll see. I'm not a big A/C fan and so prefer other heat mitigation methods/coping strategies (e.g., I've ordered a Chillow--stay tuned for a product review).

The Pros and Cons of Blogging

Pro: I don't have to have the same conversation over and over again, i.e., "How are you feeling?" "How many treatments do you have left?" and instead can talk with people about other stuff like, y'know, life.

Con: People read the blog and know what's going on with me and so don't actually call or e-mail. (Ok, so "people" is a bit of an overstatement. Some folks have been commenting, e-mailing and/or calling and for that I thank you. It's the lurkers I'm talking to here...)