The One in Which I Show You a #NoHairSelfie in Honor of #WorldCancerDay

Today, I had planned to write a pretty frothy blog about the many hairstyles of June A.C. (after Cancer), as Steven and I have taken to calling it. Kiddies, there's a B.C. and A.C., an invisible line drawn through out lifelines now, as there is for any Cancer Warriors out there. I wish the AFTER Cancer part meant "After Cancer was GONE", but "it is what it is", right? 

Guess what? It's #WorldCancerDay! Which does not sound nearly as much fun as #WorldSkipWorkDay or #WorldSandBetweenYourToesDay, .... Bummer. Sorry. It is an important subject, and it's bitchin' that they have a day dedicated to all cancers - not just the one which is covered in pink ribbons and glitter...(The designated color for brain cancer is gray...but I'm not bitter about that at all...)

Yes, it's #worldcancerday, but I discovered a loophole that allows me to go ahead with my plan while (hopefully) still maintaining the intention of today's designated honor!

As PART of this day, there's a very special hashtag: #nohairselfie. You can shave your head and share it on social media with that hashtag to raise awareness. They even have an app so you can "virtually shave and share" (Oh, the modern world!You crazy kids and your technology!) It's a Canadian campaign, but it's WORLD Cancer Day, Not National Cancer Day. and Newsflash! The internet is international!

And/or you can donate $$ to support research for a cure, etc. <---which I personally think is the way to go, but I'm not going to be pushy here. See links at the bottom of the page for suggestions for donations.

Click on the link if you don't believe me!

So, this little coincidence is totally cool AND saved the day, because it allows me to stick to my original plan to write about ... 

June A.C. and her many hairstyles! While still supporting World Cancer Day!

Win-win!!!

But let's get down to some serious business, shall we? Hair. When I was diagnosed with brain cancer, I had long, thick, wavy hair - the kind that took 45 minutes to an hour to wrestle under control when we got ready to go out. There was shampoo and conditioner, and styling cremes, and a blow-dryer and straightener AND curler. Yes, indeedy, ladies and gents! Women sometimes actually straighten their hair before they curl it. Back me up on this, Ladies! Sounds crazy, but it's true.

And when I was going to start my treatments, Donna (The P.A. who ran my Chemo Class), kept saying that the chemo I was taking would NOT cause my hair to fall out. The radiation team DID say that I was going to lose my hair, but "only in the places that I was receiving radiation treatment, so I probably would have "patchiness" .

People asked me how I felt about losing my hair in the process, and I always said the same thing: "My hair is the LEAST of my problems at this point." Which is true when your dx is Stage IV brain cancer. So, I didn't give my hair a lot of thought, honestly.

I had NO idea what that was going to look like, but I knew I wanted to be proactive and cut off a lot of my hair to 1) prepare for the inevitable and 2) donate to Locks of Love. So, I did...

And prepared for the "patchiness" about 2-3 weeks into radiation treatment.

Yeaaaa... about that "patchiness"?  This is what "patchiness" has meant in my case...

I think this counts as a #nohairselfie, don't you?

Excuse me for being a little nit-picky here....but that's not what I call "patchy". That's some Alien Crop Circle shit up on my head. But I'm not going to shave-shave all of my head. Not because I'm vain.... BAHAHAHAHA! <wiping tears from my eyes!> Do you not just see the pictures I have shown you??? Vain? <snortle!> The reason I'm not going to fully shave is I have heard that it is a 1) a huge pain in the ass to keep the smooth shave maintained and 2) you cut the crap out of your scalp using a regular razor instead of an electric one.

OH, but before I forget: huge props to my husband and brother who actually DID shave their whole heads, voluntarily, in solidarity with me:

Sorry if Steven's t-shirt offends you. #sorrynotsorry #fuckyouyoufuckingfuck #juneisfeelingfeisty

 So, for now, I'm using an electric razor to keep the patch of "sod" short while my little seedlings start to grow in. That's about what it looks like right now. I only shave that pathetic little patch in front - poor thing - so that it doesn't stick out when I wear a wig or hat.

My Options:

I have a wonderful collection of hats - thanks to some very generous June's Warriors:

If you happen to walking Communications Hill at the same time as Steven and me, you probably recognize these. Or if you stop unexpectedly at my house. Or basically 90% of the time. Hats rock!

If I'm getting fancy, I have my Fun Wig:

What better excuse to have purple hair???

or my more "Sophisticated Look":

This is a Raquel Welch Wig - which even *I* had to Google because I knew her name but couldn't think of one thing she had been in...sorry, Raquel. I like the hairstyle, though!

But I think my favorite of all is the hybrid Raquel-Tigger Look, which I only pull out for special occasions, OBVI! Like my head is cold. Or Tigger is feeling bouncy...fun, fun, fun, fun, fun!

So, if you're having a crappy day and sick of the snow or your boss is being an asshole... or WHATEVER is getting to you today...I have a gentle suggestion for you:

Maybe go to nohairselfie.com and download one of those apps and virtually shave your head. Have a good chuckle and post it on twitter, facebook. and/or instagram. Don't forget the hashtags: #nohairselfie and #WorldCancerDay.

And think about how it's just fucking hair...or snow ...or an asshole boss...

and it's not CANCER.

Because Cancer? It really sucks. And we always, always can find something to smile about. But we really need to support research to find a cure.

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There are a ton of places to donate to the cause. Here are just some links to get you started:

American Cancer Society

Stand Up To Cancer