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A great suggestion from Charolastra to create a cancer chat thread. So here it is, off topic, whatever you want, to encourage each other and vent, etc.
Ok. I'll bite. Second rain shower this afternoon that stopped work for me.
We can always use rain here; the city is surrounded by cotton and peanut farmers. They could use some rain.
Well---I did it! I cut off all my hair. Not shaved, but cut with scissors down to nothing. The wig is more beautiful than my hair was before I got sick. And wouldn't you know it; a student just knocked on my door to pay me (they skipped yesterday), and I had the wig on. Have to teach five hours tomorrow, including group lesson. Hope it goes well.
It's very freeing, actually. Think I'll just wear a pink baseball cap to chemo.
I'm actually proud of myself. I cut off all my hair and I didn't freak out (well, I cried first). It's not a buzz cut, I just cut it down to the nub with a pair of scissors. The fear of doing it was 100 times worse than the actual doing of it. And it had to happen; it was hurting where the roots of the long hair were pulling. Now it feels good.
Cleaned up the hair, took a shower, and I'm good to go. It's not that bad. I have a nice face and there's a smile on it, as there should be. No more tears, at least not for now.
Congrats! Facing things that are hard is a big step.
Our hospitals here have a big bell with a pull-chain in the hall outside the chemo rooms. When you're through all the chemo, they make a ceremony of ringing the bell before you leave. Saw my fav news anchor ringing the bell tonight. She was doing a story on breast cancer last year and got a mammogram to show how easy it is- they discovered her tumor. Six months of chemo and now on to radiation. She has tried on wigs and scarves on-air and showed her bald head. Amazing spirit!
>> Congrats! Facing things that are hard is a big step.
Thank you! It was just another thing that had to be done, like the surgery, the port, the colonoscopy, the chemo, etc. I've come a long way in a short time and my self-esteem is the better for it.
Man, I didn't get anything when I ended chemo (except for a "Maybe see you in a few months for a stem cell transplant!" conversation). I actually didn't know it was my last chemo until I was there - I thought I would have 8 months of chemo and instead I had 6 months due to the organ damage I sustained.
In other, off topic news, I have a job interview next week for what is essentially a promotion into a different department! I work in my alma mater's alumni relations department and have a final interview for an admissions counselor position, handling underrepresented geographic regions (aka travel!). It's not a huge pay raise, but would probably include a raise. And more vacation time!
@charolastra00: Good luck on your job interview! I worked at Rice after I graduated -- for a year-- in the econ dept. as the "graduate secretary." It's not easy to get on at a university after you graduate, so I congratulate you for that when you initially got your job.
I wasn't going to be a secretary, I just needed income; what I discovered was that my GRE scores were high enough to go to grad school, which I subsequently did. I earned enough money to move on, and I did (typical musician). But your job sounds interesting.
The way I got the job, BTW, was show up to the interview with the dept. head (Harvard grad) in very conservative clothes and a very demure attitude. I will confess it was all an act, born out of financial desperation. It worked. All the actors are not in Hollywood. But my true self came out eventually. It was an awful job, anyway.
I was really lucky getting this job. As an undergrad, I worked in a different area of development and my bosses pulled major strings to help me get this job since at the time I was hired, I had already moved back home to Georgia (the job is in the Boston area). It's been a phenomenal first job (and higher ed benefits really helped with cancer) but I want more pay and more power. :P
It would be nice to work in an environment where everyone doesn't think of me as the girl who had cancer. The admissions department knows me and knows my work (I created a social media marketing platform that is up for the highest award of it's kind in higher ed advancement), but doesn't necessarily know my health history. That's hugely important to me.
It's a 3 hour interview, meeting everyone from the Dean down to the receptionist, a 40 minute writing assignment, and a 20 minute presentation (that I prepare in advance).
You must be really brilliant. I was in an EdD here for educational technology; I want to finish but haven't felt well enough. I knew something was wrong but mis-diagnosed myself!! Maybe I can continue next year; it's a fascinating field.
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