Before I'm all drugged up, I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who has reached out and given me their support these last few weeks. Seriously, you guys are all incredible and I am so grateful. I want to especially thank my parents, for feeding me and putting a roof over my head and being so supportive, as well as the Meslows (my boyfriend Scott and his parents, Doug and Jenny). The Meslows -- and their connections and tenacity -- are the reason I was able to get an appointment with Dr. Peterson, who is one of the best Lymphoma doctors around, as well as navigate my treatment plan so seamlessly at the U of M. I wish I could everyone individually here, but there are SO MANY of you that would take forever. You guys are all the best.
I also want to bring to your attention some great fundraisers that my friends and colleagues have put together to raise money for the Lymphoma Research Foundation, which provides funding for innovative lymphoma research. As I mentioned in an earlier post, while doctors have figured out effective ways to fight -- and for many people cure -- Hodgkins, little is known about its cause. Doctors and scientists suspect it is a combination between genetics and environmental and viral exposure (specifically, an abnormal response to the Epstein-Barr virus), but the medical community is still largely in the dark about why some people develop it and others don't, which is why research funding is so important. My fabulous DC crew -- Anna, Abram, Matt, Heather, Rachel, and Sophie -- will be participating in the Prevent Cancer 5k run on September 21st in Washington, D.C. You can donate to their team here. My glorious NYC friends and colleagues from Roosevelt House will be participating in an indoor cycling session on September 14th; you can donate to their team here.
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| Image courtesy of the Anna, graphic designer extraordinaire, who should drop out of law school and become a marketing exec. |
The second picture is after some heavy straightening. I don't have super thick hair, but it's thicker than what's "fashionable" for short 'dos and requires a lot of styling to make it not look like I am an 80s prom queen. I even debated going back to the salon to see if they could add some layers to thin it out, but realized that thinning out my hair is the last thing I want to be doing before starting chemo.
While I plan to hold on to my hair till the last second -- if it gets super stringy, I have a few hats I can use to cover up my scalp -- I picked out a wig and a few head scarves. The wig looks a little "wiggy", but the color and style are great, and I think if it partner the wig with a headband it might almost pass as my real hair. The best part? All of this was totally free, courtesy of the American Cancer Society! There's another organization you might want to donate to if you have some extra dollaz hanging around.
Other than that, I've been trying to relax and get used to not always having something to "do". I am trying to stay busy by seeing friends and going to the gym and running errands (I basically have the lifestyle of a suburban soccer mom), but it's been hard to adjust to not having a set schedule and work projects that I need to complete. Hopefully that will change in the next few weeks -- I'd like to get some sort of part-time job and do some freelance writing. I've been putting these off the last few weeks because of the the elephant in the room, the chemo. I want to see how I react to it and then judge what is realistic. Some people continue to work (though they scale it back a bit), whereas other people people stop working completely. I have the luxury where I could theoretically do both, though that depends how I respond to treatment.
That's about it! Thank you again for your love and support -- I'll make sure to update in the next few days how my first chemo went.
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