What I wish I knew about cancer before starting treatment
When I first found out I had cancer, I underwent a whirlwind before I fell into a treatment routine. It’s nonstop information being thrown at you when you get that initial diagnosis. There are so many questions you’ll want to ask your team of doctors that you won’t remember to ask and so many questions that you don’t even know you need to ask quite yet. It’s an onslaught of information and you’re scrambling to keep up with everything. Here are a few things I didn’t realize I needed to know, from side effects to health insurance.
Hair Loss
I knew I would lose my hair but I didn’t realize how fast it would fall out. My oncologist gave me a window of two to four weeks. I was hoping for the latter. At the time, my hair was dyed blonde, so I went to my hairdresser and had her color it purple. Might as well have fun with it while I still got it, right? Almost to the day, at the two week mark, I started to find clumps of hair. I had a large bald spot right where I had radiation and brain surgery. I ended up shaving my head shortly after that. If you’re going through chemo, expect for your hair to fall out sooner rather than later. I could have saved myself some cash had I just shaved it all off and gotten it over with. Shaving your head also gives you a sense of control back. When I started chemo a second time I shaved my hair…
