Friday, January 2, 2015

A Year Since Chemo

One year ago today I finished the hard part.  Chemo. Or at least the harsh chemo.  I still had a year of Herceptin to go through, which I was happy to complete on October 30th.

chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth
 
I cannot even begin to tell you how FAST this year has gone.  Granted I had my reconstruction surgery, tons of scans and started my Li Fraumeni Surveillance.  With all of that under my belt and finding out that the lesion on my hip wasn't cancer I feel like things are finally looking up for the hubby and I!
 
We spent NYE celebrating my results with great friends and lots of cocktails!


chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth

chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth
 
There were a bunch of other pictures taken, but throughout the course of the night they became more blurry! :)
 
 
With all of the positive things going on in the hubs and my life right now we are truly blessed.
 
My hair has definitely been growing like a weed.  Being curly it's taking twice as long as straight hair, but I'm enjoying every step of this process:
 
From when I was bald, and taking a shower was SO much quicker!
 
chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth, bald, english springer spaniel
 
  I was SO excited about the little sprouts of hair on my head. (January 20th, 2014).
 
This doesn't seem like much, but for me it was HUGE progress!

chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth, bald, bald is beautiful
 
When I plucked out whatever was left of my eyebrows and eyelashes and decided to move on but was super excited about my hair growth! (February 11th, 2014)

chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth, bald, bald is beautiful
 
Fast forward to February 28th, when I finally had a hair line!! :)
 
chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth, bald, bald is beautiful
 
And a shadow of a hairline turned into a very noticeable amount of hair and eyebrows...
 
chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth, bald, bald is beautiful, i have eyebrows
 
And shortly after I rocked a mini Mohawk.
 
chemo, one year, short hair, pixie, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, Mohawk, growing your hair, hair growth, bald, bald is beautiful
 
It really feels like a decade ago that my hair was this short...no joke.(April 1, 2014)
 
chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth, bald, bald is beautiful
 
And at this point I could kind of style it! (April 29, 2014)
 
chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth, bald, bald is beautiful
 
Here was what I call the foof look with a nice swirl!  My bangs clearly had a mind of their own.
 
chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth, bald, bald is beautiful
 
I could finally twist my bangs in July 2014...

chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth, bald, bald is beautiful
 
But trust me it was a total mess if I didn't use a boat load of mousse!
 
chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth, bald, bald is beautiful

 
First haircut. (August 2014)
 
chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth, bald, bald is beautiful
 
In September 2014 I was finally getting some length!

chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth, bald, bald is beautiful
 
And just a few short weeks later, and after MANY failed attempts at straightening my too short to straighten hair, I was successfully able to straighten my bangs for the first time since September 2013 when I shaved my head. (November 9, 2014) 

chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth, bald, bald is beautiful, bangs
 
And the most recent on New Years with a good friend, celebrating!
 
chemo, one year, anniversary, growing your hair out after chemo, growing your hair, hair growth, bald, bald is beautiful, NYE, 2015
 
 There are times when I miss my long hair....but right now I'm diggin' the shortness.  I am excited to see what 2015 brings the hubs and I and to see how long my hair grows! :)
 
XO
 

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7 comments:

  1. Suzan St MaurJanuary 3, 2015 at 8:18 AM

    Love the hair saga Emily ... LOL ... When my hair grew back I actually loved it short and kept it like that until recently when I decided to grow it down into a chin-length bob. But I will probably get fed up with that and have it cut short again - there's a lot to be said for a wash & wear style. And it really suits you short, too!

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    1. EmilyJanuary 3, 2015 at 4:15 PM

      Eexactly! If there is ONE thing I'm grateful to for cancer, and having to go through chemo is that I learned that I can rock short hair pretty well! :) I'm not sure when I'll find my comfort zone for length, but at the rate that my hair is growing it'll be a good FIVE years before it's back to my old length. :) Happy New Year!

      xo

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  2. Care AcrossJanuary 5, 2015 at 6:55 AM

    Great to see the evolution in pictures!
    There's only one thing staying the same across all - that big smile. Keep it there :)

    Happy 2015 Emily!

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    1. EmilyJanuary 6, 2015 at 12:31 AM

      Thank you!!! I definitely have a reason to smile! Life is beautiful! <3

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  3. KaterineJanuary 26, 2015 at 12:39 PM

    My hair grew back with much more grey. I dare not colour it chemically, so I put henna on it, trying henna with the black natural coloration (indigofera tinctoria) first. Unfortunately it turned the grey slightly purple. :( I'm going to redo it again this weekend or so, using the natural red henna, lawsonia inermis. It's time I update my cancer journey, but as you know I've been immersed in other problems. But I will update. It's been ages since I posted a photo of myself. Take care sweetheart --love your blog. It's so courageous and upbeat, I should take an example.

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    Replies
    1. EmilyFebruary 9, 2015 at 1:07 PM

      Have you tried redying it?? How did it turn out? I hope that your stress level has lightened up!! take a deep breath..this too shall pass!

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    2. KaterineFebruary 9, 2015 at 5:54 PM

      Yes, I redid it with red henna and then died it with the black stuff on top. It's come out a perfect dark brown, and very shiny. This is the best information I've found online: http://www.hennaforhair.com/freebooks/hennaforhair.pdf

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