Life without hair
Cancer and hair loss go together like rain and holidays in Wales. Hair loss often comes from systemic chemotherapy (explanation here), but radiation to the head can also cause hair loss.
Now, when I previously saw people with cancer-related baldness, without really thinking about it, I assumed that their hair just fell out one day in big clumps, and as most cancer patients I’d seen seemed to have the Yul Brynner shine, I assumed it ALL came out.
This turns out not to be the case.
Two weeks after my radiation, my hair started falling out in an odd pattern. As I was getting laughed at on the tube, I decided to shave off what was left. I might as well look like I intended to be bald, after all. I only realized today, looking in the mirror, that none of the stubble was growing, and I still had a skinhead three weeks or so after a grade zero haircut. In fact, I’m very slowly going balder than I was.
Sounds silly, but it made me laugh at my lack of observation. I guess the radiation killed all the hair-growing cells at the same time, but the hair only fell out where it was thin or grey. The tougher stuff that framed my pre-existing bald area died, but refused to fall out. Spartan hair. Yeah, baby.
So I suppose I should post a mugshot for my new book: Attack of the obese baldies. And here it is:
Yeah, see, I know I’m fat, but I’m working on it, ‘kay? Now on week three of the 5k plan, and just started the 100 pushup program. Current amount of pushups: 5. You laugh? How about I come and cut a hole in your bloody pectoral muscle and we’ll see how many you can do? How about that? Eh?
