Losing my hair, eyebrows and eyelashes didn't change who I was. It didn't change they people who loved me. Thanks to bright colors and make up, people told me all the time that I looked great.
PUBLISHED April 11, 2018
Doris Cardwell received a life-changing diagnosis of inflammatory breast cancer in 2007. While undergoing treatment, she co-founded a mentor program for the cancer center treating her. She also created community events to educate, encourage and empower people regarding cancer. Doris was the first Survivorship Community Outreach Liaison for her local cancer center. She is an advocate, educator and encourager on issues facing cancer survivors. Doris is a wife, mother, empty nester, survivor of life and lover of all things coffee. An avid speaker and blogger, she is available at www.justdoris.com.
When a woman hears the dreaded words, "You have cancer" one of the many next thoughts can be, "Will I lose my hair?". For some, this is more of an issue than others. For me, it was secondary, yet significant.First, I wanted to live more than I wanted to have hair. Our youngest daughter was 10, the middle one was 12 and the oldest was 17. None of these, in my opinion, were times when a daughter didn't need her mother. I watched my husband process the reality looming ahead – the fact that I might not be part of equation as they continued to grow and mature. It was a lot to take in.
Second, I didn't want our girls to see me look sick. Not for reasons that you might first think. I wasn't being vain, I didn't want them to assume the worst. I prayed and prayed that I would keep my hair, eyebrows and eyelashes. When my hair started coming out in handfuls, I accepted the inevitable. Then I directed my prayers to my eyebrows. They too, let loose and went away. Last but not least, I begged God for my eyelashes to stay. All the while, the nurses were adamant it would all go....
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