Let the shedding begin...

They told me this would happen, and they told me it would take about 10-14 days to begin. Apparently I am a bit slow, but starting this morning, I noticed some distinct shedding. I'd been feeling it in my scalp for a day, that itchy pain in the roots of the hairs, and had figured it was the first sign. I was right. This morning, only individual hairs were coming out. By this evening, pulling my hand through my hair is leaving me with perhaps a dozen left in my hand. Given the density of my pixie cut mane, the loss does not yet show. But if it keeps accelerating at this pace, I'll be bald before I know it. Let the shedding begin...

But it turns out nobody ever mentioned that losing the hair would hurt. And I don't mean that figuratively -- of course it "hurts" psychologically to be losing one's hair. I mean that losing my hair actually hurts -- physically. It's not a bad pain -- on the famous hospital pain scale of 1 (no pain) to 10 (the worst pain I can imagine), this one rates perhaps a 0.5. Nonetheless, I am surprised nothing I read on the topic ever pointed out that I would be able to feel the hair come out.

Perhaps this sensation is typically subsumed under the label "scalp irritation." When used my last day of the week with full energy (well, as full as my energy gets these days) to run errands (bank, work, store, grocery store) I put on one of the cute hats I have purchased for my soon-to-be-bald head. I'm supposed to keep the sun off my button nose (turns out chemo drugs also make a girl more photo-sensitive than normal), so I figured a hat would help with that. But boy, could I feel my irritated scalp under that. Hopefully this will subside a bit when all the hair is gone...

Tomorrow I go for my second cocktail hour at the Cancer Center. I suppose that won't help with hair retention, either. So I'm thinking that before the weekend is out, I will have to have the ceremonial shaving of the remaining hair. Since I cannot easily lift my hands above my head, I am hoping that DH will do the honors. Too bad the next few days are supposed to bring more rain, as this rules out the deck for the shaving session and forces my falling tresses into the house.

Oh well, so there goes the hair. I keep telling myself that it's just hair and that it'll grow back. But of course I'm a bit nervous about losing it, even if I bought a wig, head coverings, and hats already and have a second, nicer wig on order. Nonetheless, losing my hair will officially make me look sick and like a cancer patient. But hey, just because I won't have hair doesn't mean that I won't be fabulous any more!!!