Chemo....It Does Funny Things To Your Body

I am still waiting for my hair to grow back, you know I really miss it.  I sometimes find myself grabbing for it, brushing it and wanting to blow dry it.  It's the small things in life that you realize are habit forming.  I have a great wig that looks real, but I feel the mesh on my scalp, something you can't see.  I feel the synthetic hair and it doesn't feel the same to me.  I also wear my scarves, caps and hats but again it's not the same.  I have hair envy, is that bad or what?  I hear so many people complain about their hair color, texture and style.  I pray every day that my hair grows fast and isn't grey!! ha ha.

I have also realized how pale I am now....I haven't been out in the sun in so long!  I need to get out walking and get some color back in face.  Its so windy here lately I am afraid I may lose my wig so I guess I will have to sport a cap or scarf.  I went to a luncheon meeting one day in December.  I had just gotten this long wig from the American Cancer Society and wearing it was so new to me.  This lunch was on a day of "The Wind Storm" that blew through So Cal.  The wind was blowing so very hard that I had to hold the car door with two hands as I opened it to get out, for fear it could bend all the way back.  As I was walking to the restaurant I had to hold my wig down with my hand.  I noticed that the people in the restaurant were looking at me funny....I had to laugh, I would have done the same thing.  Since then I have learned to not ware wigs on a windy day...ha ha

Last week I attended another meeting and drove with a couple of friends.  We stopped at Taco Bell to grab a quick bite to eat.  I knew I couldn't eat anything there since I am unable to eat anything spicy.  I asked the man behind the counter if the chicken was spicy, he replied "No the a chicken isn't a spicy".  So I ordered a chicken soft taco with cheese only.  Now my mouth was coated, as usual after chemo, with this funny film in my mouth that prevented me from tasting anything.  I had my taco and we went on to the meeting.  After about 15 minutes my face felt really hot, I thought to myself "oh man my face is turning red"...then my tongue became tingly and my lips felt like they were plumping...ha ha.  All I could do was laugh in my head about this.  I wonder what the others in the meeting were thinking as they saw my face get more red as time went on.  So funny the things chemo can do to your body, yea really funny.

I'm so excited to eat spicy food again, salads, BBQ, berries and other fruit, eat tomatoes and not worry about what salt can do to my body.  I have gained about 15-20 lbs in water weight over the last week or two...I have been assured by my Hemo Oncologist that this weight will all come off in February.  I really hope she is right, I really don't want to end up on the Biggest Loser-Cancer Edition...ha ha  Actually that would be a good one!  I look forward to having the energy to exercise again!!  I need to build my stamina up and get back to working out again!!