Her hair is falling out already.
After only one chemotherapy session, her hair is falling out.
After being diagnosed with breast cancer, she stepped up. Stared it down. Took charge.
She had surgery.
Just do it.
This next step is no different. Chemo is taking her hair and she’s willing to lose it all. But on her terms.
Status: I am shaving my head this morning.
An outpouring of love.
You can do it. You are more than your hair. You are beautiful. SO PROUD.
I smiled.
Good for her.
And then she posted pictures.
In the first one, a stylist tackled her long blond tresses.
She did it on her terms.
In the second, her hair was mostly gone. A curtain framed her face but otherwise only stubble remained.
On her terms.
My heart swelled with pride.
You look like the badass you are, I said. So incredibly proud of you for posting these photos. SO, SO proud.
Proud doesn’t even begin to cover it.
I’m not sure I’m brave enough to post the next one, she said.
You are, I told her.
You are brave enough. Go and look in the mirror – sans wig – and really look at yourself.
You are not your hair.
You are your eyes and your smile.
You are laugh lines.
You are your hands – the ones that hold your child.
You are brave and beautiful.
And your hair has nothing to do with it.
Her hair has nothing to do with it.
She’ll wear a wig, because she has a little girl – only three, her birthday is one day after my son’s – and little girls don’t understand cancer.
The wig will make a lot of things easier but, when she looks in the mirror, sans wig, I want her to know:
She is strong.
She is beautiful.
And her hair has nothing to do with it.
***
She’s doing an amazing job loving herself through this, but if she stumbles we’ll do it for her.
(I heart Martina.)
Last week we had 36 people link up an enough-themed post in our Be Enough Me for Cancer campaign and I’d love it if you’d help us boost that number again. For every 20 linked up posts, Bellflower Books will provide a memory book to a woman fighting breast cancer and help bring a smile to courageous women giving it their all, every single day. The link up opens on Monday morning and remains open for three days. No blog? No worries. You can also comment on the post or on the Just.Be.Enough. Facebook page with your own story and be counted.
xo
