HAIR she comes to save the day!

I wasn't going to post about my hair growth until it was all grown back. You know- long and blonde and beautiful (and possibly curly). However, my decision about that was made without my knowledge of how very, very, very, very long it takes for hair to grow back!!! LOL But because I have had lots of hair growth since my B-Day in May [birthday, bald day, whatever you want to call it], I thought it appropriate that my hair gets it's proper salute now.
I've done a pretty good job of documenting things. Are you surprised by this???? LOL So without further ado, here's Chemo Girl's Hair Growth journey thus far.

{"Today, I think I will call myself..... Chemo Girl! LOL"}

Chemo Girl's Hair Growth on the top:

April 27: 1st round of Chemo
May 1st: Long, blonde hair
              Family cut my hair into boy cut
              Family shaved my head
May 18: 2nd round of Chemo
May 21st: It actually started to grow back. This is my GI Jane look
May 22: A patch started to fall out on the right side
May 26: Both sides started to thin
May 27: Hubby duck taped my head to remove the hair
May 28: All that was left was tiny black hairs
May 29: It looked like peach fuzz on top
May 30: Shaved whatever else I could.
***No more hair for a month and a half! :( ***
June 8: 3rd round of Chemo
June 29: 4th round of Chemo
July 30: Starting to see a tiny bit of hair growth
August 1: Surgery Day- My Cancer Patient Hairdo. LOL!
August 5: Baby hair
August 17: Looks really light
August 19: Starting to see a cowlick in the front
August 24: Starting to turn darker
August 31: The growth on the back of my neck is going crazy!
September 7: Pretty much stopped wearing my wig. I just wear hats when I go out.
September 14: My hair is starting to part in the opposite direction then it used to.
September 21: Getting pretty thick
September 28: The Justice look-a-like
October 5: Brett used the shaver to straightened out the back.

Chemo Girl's Hair Growth on the side and back

There you go! My Hair Growth Journey is far from complete but I am glad to have it cover my head again. Minor miracles- we'll take them!

Herceptin #8

I had my followup appointment with Panwalker today. The first thing, he said to me was " So what did you decide?" I had to laugh. He does a good job letting me think I am in charge. ;) I told him that I would schedule a couple more Herceptins but still am choosing to not take Tamoxifen at all. I figured that I might as well keep my doctor at least half way happy as long as I am here. However, I don't want to continue the Herceptin after we leave and definitely not into the new year. (I already hit my insurance maximum for the year. No reason to hit my maximum for 2013 with one round of Herceptin.) Other than that, he said everything looks great. He wants to see me back in 3 months or before we leave the country. 

Back in the Infusion Center, Samantha was my nurse for the day. She was a lot of fun and so sweet. She let me ramble on about my blog and even show her a couple of things on the iPad I borrowed. 

My stinky left hand veins did their usual. You think one will cooperate and then.... ha! Just Kidding! It disappears after you poke it. Dangit! The second time we did it more in my wrist and it worked like a charm. I don't know why they do that. Buggers! Besides that, the day was quick and uneventful. [Except dropping off the Chemo hats] I did get to visit with my Volunteer friend Becky. This is her last Friday up at the Center until next Summer. {Insert sad face}. I'm so glad I got to see her one more time. And... she got a job at a local Quilt shop so I'm positive I'll see her there some time! Yeah!
Here's my little bandaged hand after my visit:

And here's what my hand looked like a 3 days later. Kucky! I can't tell you how excited I will be when all the pokes and bruises are over!

Chemo Hats Service

Our Stake Relief Society had their annual Stake Women's Conference on September 14th. Every year, they plan a Service Project to participate in. Last year I helped with it and really enjoyed it. This year, Sister Z called me back in July to throw around ideas. At the time I was going through Chemotherapy. Obviously, baldness and chemo was on my brain (literally). I suggested that we could make Chemo hats. Even though it didn't go with their "theme" for the evening of service, Teri sent out an email to the women of the Stake with a few Chemo cap patterns that I had sent her.She let them know that if they wanted to make some, we would donate them to the Roger Maris Cancer Center in September. As the Friday night evening of service drew near, plans changed a bit and they did (along with lots of other things) make a few chemo caps that night. BUT sisters from all over the Stake had taken upon them the challenge in their spare time leading up to the Conference as well. It turns out that our LDS Fargo Stake Sisters had made 57 chemo hats to donate! How awesome is that?

Teri met me up at the Roger Maris Cancer Center to donate them this morning. So fun! As the weather is getting colder here in Fargo, we hope they will warm those that choose them as they are going through Chemo.

Here's the links that I sent to Teri back in July. 

"This is more of what I like to wear. I think they are the comfy-est and I can sleep in them or wear them out in public without people seeing my bald head. 

Head Huggers

Quick and Easy Fleece Beanie

Creative Kindness Easy Hat

Kindness Hat with lots of variations"

Hope Soars Cancer Dinner

At my LiveStrong class, they mentioned this Picnic that was being put on for Cancer Survivors and their families tonight out at Trollwood in Moorhead. Brett is out of town but Robbie offered that her family would go with me if I wanted to go. So.. we braved it. I'm so glad we went! It was a lot of fun. 

We met the Stephens there in time to see them blowing up the Hot Air Balloons. The kids were so excited! Unfortunately, the famous Fargo wind picked up and this is as high as they ever got them before they took them down. At least we got to see them. When we checked in, they had a drawing for a chance to win a ride on them at a later date. How cool would that be?

Inside, they had a few information booths from the embrace program @ Sanford Health. Everyone got a Livestrong bracelet and got to tie a ribbon on the hot air balloon (out of fabric) that will hang in the Sanford Hospital. They also had a guest speaker that is comical and sings beautifully. The kids were running like crazy out in the open field having a blast so we only heard the parts that she sang. But what a great way to celebrate survivorship then through humor and music!
For dinner, they had pulled perk sandwiches, beans, cookies and drinks. It was really good! Then we met up with some of my LiveStrong friends. Robbie, Liberty and I chatted with Denise and Kiona before they left. Liberty loves Denise! She thinks she is so funny! When the Stephens had to take off, the kids and I went to look for Katelyn (my awesome instructor) and Jennifer and her family. We took the chance to get a group shot. Glory hopped right into Katelyn's arms for the picture. How cute!

The kids absolute favorite part of the night was the Golf Cart ride back to the van! LOL They had them available at the door of the building and the guy offered. The temperature had dropped significantly and we had parked out pretty far so it actually worked out well. The kids giggled the whole time! One problem now though-- they all think we should buy a golf cart! LOL Silly kids! Thanks a lot Embrace and Sanford!

New Post of Duty Date

Brett talked to Kim Lappin, the Associate Director of International Operations for the IRS HQ, this week. She wanted an update about my health and our Cancer plan. Brett discussed it with her a bit and informed her that we had turned in all our physical papers to the State Department for review. We are hopeful that we are getting the ball rolling to get down South by the end of the year. We still feel like this is an opportunity that would be beneficial to our family and are way excited!!!
During their conversation Brett discovered that supposedly, work at the Embassy is pretty slow during the month of December. So, Kim said they will officially change our Post of Duty date to January 1st, 2013.

When Brett and I discussed it later, we talked about how great it would be to have a "slow" month to get settled, unpacked and get to know people. So if we get medically cleared, I would really like to be down there December 1st. I know that is coming really quickly but we have been waiting a LONG time to go. There's no reason for us to wait longer than we have to, dang-it! LOL
It just happened that Brett talked to Kim again today for something. He mentioned what we had hoped for and she said she didn't have a problem. So if we get cleared medically... we will be switching our Post of Duty Date it to December 1st. Crazy but so exciting!

Boob Shopping 101

This post is dedicated to all you never knew you would someday know about boob shopping.

FIRST 1st, you have to have one or both of your real breasts removed by a certified medical Boob Remover aka Breast Surgeon. In my opinion, a clean slate is the best way to start!

SECOND 2nd- You will need a prescription written by your doctor if you wish anyone (insurance) to help you with the cost. Yes, that's right. Someone will have to say it is OK for you to have breasts. Because looking at your completely flat chest will NOT be enough evidence. LOL (Trust me- you will want their help! On average each form costs between $185 and $300. Like $360-$600 a set. Ouch! Mastectomy bras are between $25-$60 each). 

NEXT 3rd, Isn't there a saying of  "The more you know..."  I had done lots of research online. There is lots of information. It's actually a bit overwhelming. One good source is the American Cancer Society's TLC store website. They have an article about things you should know about Breast Replacement Forms. Another was an article from the BreastFree Blog. Who knew there were so many different things you could choose from? Here's a Fake Boob 101 crash course. 

* There are 3 basic shapes you have to choose from- the Triangle, the Asymmetrical, and the Teardrop. The purpose behind that is that each fills in a different part of the bra. 

* There are different backs to boobs. Some adhere to your skin, others that help with climate control and still others that are concave, or flat backed for a custom fit. 

* They are made of different materials. The most common is silicone because it has the most lifelike feel and most are waterproof. You have the choice between regular and lightweight silicone forms. But then you also have ones that even weigh less that are made of fabric, plastic and are filled foam, memory foam, or micro beads. And finally, they make Swim forms. They are usually clear and have a concave back to let the water flow easier.

* And for further information you may never need to know- prosthetic boobs come in numbers not letters. Guess they don't want you to forget that they are fake so they distinguish them differently. LOL

Cup	Band
AA	30	32	34	36	38	40	42
A		30	32	34	36	38	40	42	46	48
B			30	32	34	36	38	40	42	44	46	48
C					32	34	36	38	40	42	44	46	48	50
D						32	34	36	38	40	42	44	46	48	50	52
DD							32	34	36	38	40	42	44	46	48	50	52
DDD									34	36	38	40	42	44	46	48	50	52
G										32	34	36	38	40	42	44	46	48
H											32	34	36	38	40	42	44	46
FakeBoob Size	0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17

Finally 4th, Time to go shopping! Believe it or not, there ARE Boob shops around. Here in Fargo, I visited two. The first was the American Cancer Society. The other was the Just for Women shop ran by Sanford Health. Both have their perks. Here's a little about my Boob Shopping experiences:

Shopping Day #1: 

A couple of weeks ago, KBro went with me to the American Cancer Society for my first Boob Shopping experience. After a mastectomy, the ACS will give you a free bra and breast form. [I'll take whatever free, I can get!] They have a closet full of fake boobs that they have had donated to them to give away (not necessarily sets but just random stuff). According to Kristen's professional boob-size opinion, we decided to start out small. The lady helping us got out several bras and a few different small sizes. In the picture I think I am modeling a 2 (on my left) and a 4 (on my right). We thought we were SO funny! Then the "professional opinion" changed directions and I quote, KBro said- "If you are going to get that size you might as well not wear any." LOL! Well, OK... then. So we asked for a couple larger sizes. And then... a size above that. Maybe one size larger? And... do you have these in a set? ;) Perhaps we were there a little too long and a little too picky because finally, the lady just gave us free range of the boob closet and went back to work. Wahoo! We searched the closet and finally found a set of size 6 Asymmetrical forms and a set of size 6 swim boobs that we liked. We also found 2 bras that fit them well. Look at us- We are awesome! We were trying to make a decision on which one to take and then decided to just ask if we could have both. [They were the only swim set in the closet] No harm in asking, right? The lady said we could take them all and off we went. Two sets of boobs and two bras, $0 paid-- I'm so excited!!!! A very successful day indeed. Thanks Kristen for coming with me! You are awesome!

Shopping Day #2:
Then this week, Brett went with me over to the Just for Women store run by Sanford. A totally different experience but fun just the same. The Sanford ladies don't leave you, they actually dress you. [Right after my surgery I stopped by the shop to get a post-surgical, front-clasp bra. That first time I was a little self-conscience but I've discovered that a Mastectomy is like childbirth- at some point modesty is not part of the equation. LOL] Just for Women has lots of different shapes and sizes. We tried on teardrop ones, asymmetrical ones, triangle ones, sticky back ones, small ones and large ones as well as several bras. With our insurance, Sanford will do 1 set of boobs and 4 bras every year. With the post surgery one, I had 3 bras left to choose. Brett liked the smooth look so we went with ones like that. Then the trick is that you have to match the bra cup size to the breast form you want. Believe me- a fake boob doesn't look good hanging out of the bra. ;) We finally decided on a triangular size 5 breast form with a cool comfort back. Yeah! Thanks Honey for helping me pick out the perfect chest! XOXO!

So after a couple very fun shopping experiences-- here's my many new boob looks. So fun!

All Natural- size 00, My Everyday Boobs- size 4,  My Swim Boobs- size 6 (more like size 5), My Date Boobs- size 6

Here's what my actual Prosthetic Boobs look like.

OK... Last thing. Because we ARE soooo funny, we had Jenise let us try on a size 12. She put me in an I bra. You know... like DoubleD, E, F, G, H, I. Holy Moly, big boobies, people!- They actually have some that go up to a 20. I can't even imagine! LOL My shirt obviously was NOT meant for that boob size (that is one attractive line across my chest!) but you get the idea! LOL For a "small, mature breasted" woman (at least that's what my doctors told me LOL)- these babies were gigantic. So funny!