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Cancer in Quarantine Diaries: The Haircut
The haircut is one of the many milestones of cancer
My hair had been falling out for weeks. The medical oncologist warned me that my hair would fall out with Taxol, the chemo drug of choice for my HER2+ breast cancer. During our consultation, he made note of my long hair and suggested that I cut it short before my first infusion so that my transition from a head full of long locks to bald or nearly bald head wouldn’t be so traumatizing for my children. But as he looked at me I knew he meant that I should cut my hair so it wouldn’t be so traumatizing for me.
My husband loved my long hair. He liked running his hands through it when we stood with my head on his chest. I had taken to having fun with my hair and letting my stylist, Julina, do whatever she wanted and she always came up with the best color and styles for me. I had grown up in a conservative home and my mom liked things orderly so my hair stayed in the same dark ponytail through high school and college. It wasn’t until I was in my forties that I found great joy in playing with my hair and dying it pink and purple one month and a beautiful red the next.
Just as the pandemic started to rear it’s ugly head and we were getting warnings to limit contact and begin social distancing I went in for my last haircut. I had intended to bring…
