Aaargh! Do We Do This AGAIN! Or "How He Lied To Me!"

That man sat there, with a slight smile on his face, his eyes squinting every so slightly and he plain out and out lied to me.

No, not my Hubby. I'm talking about my new Oncologist. A month ago he and I reviewed a list of "possibles" in terms of new chemo treatment. He picked the one at the top of the list and said, "We'll do this one." Actually it included the same drugs as before -- carboplatin and paclitaxel or carbo/taxol for short. Added to this duo would be a new drug, Avastin, which is currently being used with recurrent ovarian cancer and carries some vague promise (yah, another promise!) of efficacy in holding cancer cells at bay.

This time round, we're doing lesser dosages more often. Small doses weekly vs. high doses every third week.

So I sez to the Onc, "How about hair loss?"

He sez, "Oh, perhaps a bit of thinning."

I knew he was lying then.

I have proof of it this week. Proof by the handfull.

Funny thing. It's not nearly as traumatic this time round as it was a year ago. I actually feel rather matter-of-fact about it. Frankly, I could go bald for the next 20 years if I could feel good and live my life for those 20 years. Hair is the least of it.

Other than the hair thing, I feel really well. I have plenty of energy and I wake up every morning in a good frame of mind. No aches, no pains, no nausea. Only the hair issue. (Well, my white blood count is down but shots take care of that.)

I've heard of worse side-effects. Chemotherapy can consist of any number of drugs and any combo thereof. Some can cause major damage to the kidneys, liver, heart...not to mention "chemo brain" where your thinking gets a bit askew, a bit less than yesterday's sharp thinking. No, I don't mind the hair loss...it's just such a nuisance with all the scarves and caps and hats and drawing of eyebrows and adding eyeliner to sub for loss of lashes. It's all such a nuisance...except at shower time. Then it's easy and I can see why men shave their heads.

I do sigh a bit, though, when I look at old photos and see that lovely mop of smooth, straight, white hair that sat atop my head. I sure did have a nice hair-do.

Time for breakfast...oatmeal with raisins. Coffee.

Go hug your hair!

Added late today! Blood test today. Results? My CA-125 has gone down considerably under this new series of chemo. That's good news, Folks!