Hair Growth After Cancer Treatment

Hi Everyone!

I hope you're all well, sorry I have been away for quite while due to exams which are all finally done and I am very proud of myself for completing them all. Now its the waiting game for my results and whether I get into university or not, but for now I want to enjoy my longest summer holiday yet and forget about my exams as its all in the past! I am looking forward to so many things this summer such as my 18th birthday, leavers ball and generally just spending time with my friends and family as these past 18 months have been so hectic with my studies and I feel like I haven't had any time to focus on myself or have a social life.

Anyway in today's post I will be talking about hair growth after my treatment; as you may all know one of the horrible side effects of chemotherapy/radiotherapy is hair loss. I have mentioned this in my previous posts;  loosing my hair long thick black hair was one of most upsetting thing I have ever been through. Going from being an ordinary thirteen year old who loved styling her hair to finding strands of hair on my pillow was just heartbreaking, I remember crying over it to my mum some nights in hospital.  As a girl I was so anxious of  what people would think of me including my friends, for  having no hair, it felt like cancer was not just killing me inside but also killing me from the outside by taking my identity away. As much as it was an awful experience loosing all my hair I just had to keep myself going by thinking that this treatment is going to make me feel better, and my hair will  eventually grow back.

Believe it or not as my hair was so thick not all of it fell out until my last ever chemotherapy course! All the doctors were amazed about it because usually a patients hair would be completely gone by their second round, of course mine was so thin and just constantly falling out but I was kind of happy that I still had a little bit of hair left. Until my hair grew back I decided to wear a wig, which I was kindly donated by Little Princess Trust, a charity who provide real hair wigs to patients who have lost their hair due to treatment. I loved wearing my wig as it look exactly like my old hair and no one noticed it was a wig! However it was extremely uncomfortable and hot wearing it, I remember taking it straight off as soon as I got home from going out anywhere.

My wig

My hair started to grow back a month later my treatment had finished, it grew back very curly and thick, even though my hair was growing back I was not comfortable to go out in public without my wig so I carried on wearing it. If you have read my previous posts you guys would know unfortunately six months later I relapsed (my cancer returned), this meant the hair that just growing back was going to fall out again.  I cannot put into words how devastated I was to put be slammed with the news I have to go through this horrible battle again , but I guess this time I was prepared and knew what to expect. I didn't want to go through the emotional roller coaster of finding strands of my hair on the pillow again so I decided to have my hair shaved off as soon as i got home from my first course of treatment following my relapse. To this day I can remember crying my eyes out as it  was being shaved off but as always I pulled myself together and remained strong because at the end of the day I faced the decisions of either loosing my hair or life. 

This time round I felt differently about my wig, I just felt like I didn't want to hide behind a wig anymore I wanted people to see the reality of how cancer was effecting me as a person. Yes I was scared of how people would react to me being bald but you know what?  I couldn't care less of what people thought of me. Whenever I went out in public I got some strange look from people but I learnt to ignore them as I knew I was the stronger person to face everyone without a disguise in such a vulnerable state.

I decided to wear bandannas instead  of wigs which were also kindly donated by  a charity whilst I was in hospital, they were so much more comfortable than wearing a wig. I had different coloured and patterned bandanna and I loved wearing them!

Bandanas

One thing I am eternally thankful for is the incredible support I received from my school and friends, they were one of the  main reasons I kept fighting whenever I felt like giving up. I was especially nervous returning back to school as my hair was just starting to grow back but thinking back on  it  now I was absolutely terrified for no reason as everyone was supportive and kept complimenting me how I suit short hair. It is the smallest things, such as people showing their kindness towards you that keep you going through such tough times and, Dane Court Grammar School I will never be able to thank you all enough for being there for me when I was in such a vulnerable place.

Over the four years since my treatment finished in 2011, as my hair has been growing  I have experienced different hair styles and lengths and have loved every single of one them. My hair has now grown back curly and really thick, before my illness it was very straight and thick, strange huh? I call them chemo curls! Below I have inserted pictures of me from when my hair first started to grow to how my hair looks to this day. 

Chemo curls

Most people take their hair for granted and I certainly was one of them before my illness. Having cancer has not only taught me not to take my health for granted but also to appreciate the little things like having hair everyday to wash and style which I missed so much during the time in which I had no hair. 

Thank you for reading and I hope you have enjoyed this post. 

Kirushni xxx