I've been meaning to write an entry about my hairloss, so here it goes... On Saturday, 3/3/07, just 4 days after I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, I decided to chop off my hair to donate to Locks of Love, a non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children with long-term medical hair loss. Why let my long hair go to waste since it was going to fall out anyways? I was trying put into practice the old saying, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!!"My family, Van and Mabel all took turns snipping away at my head. We made it a big event and it was actually quite fun. My brother Michael and my boyfriend Van shaved their heads too. Additionally, I have 8 other friends who shaved their heads for support. Thanks Hung, Ben, Tony, Matt, Lijen, Norman, Veeral and Bryan! You guys sure know how to cheer a girl up.
This was actually my 2nd time donating to Locks of Love. The first time I donated was when I started UC Berkeley in Fall 2000. I first learned about this organization on television and I thought it was a such a great idea and good way to give a piece of myself to help someone who is going through tough times. (Plus, I secretly thought of it as my offering to the college gods to help me do well in school. A little good karma never hurt anybody.)
For about 2 weeks after my chemotherapy, I did not see any hair fall out. By the 3rd week, my hair was coming out in huge clumps. My mom got annoyed because I kept on tugging at my hair. It was pretty crazy to see how much hair would fall out whenever I pulled on it. Little hairs were everywhere. I had to change my pillowcases like 5 times a day. Plus they were always poking into my skin. It made me extremely itchy. By the time I was discharged after my 30 days in the hospital, I was completely bald.
I felt very self conscious about my baldness. My comedian friend Sheng Wang jokes that people should view balding as "face gain" not "hair loss". I thought that was a very clever way to put it. Unfortunately for me, it was hard to embrace the "face gain" because I felt so naked without my hair. I think it's a million times harder for a girl to lose her hair than a guy. Instead, I embraced "helmet coverage". The first day I was released from the hospital, I went straight to the mall to buy doo rags, hats, scarves and bandanas. For the first couple of months, my bald head was nowhere to be seen in public as I usually kept it protected under some sort head dress.
My hair only fell out after the 1st round of chemotherapy. During Round 1 (aka "Induction Phase"), I was on 2 different kinds of chemo drugs, Idarubicin and Cytarabine (Ara-C). I think Idarubicin is what caused my hair loss because in the subsequent rounds of chemotherapy (aka "Consolidation Phase") I have only been receiving High-dose Cytarabine and my hair is not falling out at all. Luckily my eyebrows and eyelashes never fell out which was a pleasant surprise because I heard many chemo patients lose their eyebrows.
Currently, my hair is growing back nicely. It is very black and soft. My nurse said the hair is soft like baby's hair because all of the hair follicles are brand new. The best part about losing my hair was my donation to Locks of Love especially now that I know what it feels like to be bald. I got a postcard in the mail from Locks of Love thanking me for my donation which will "benefit a Locks of Love recipient and change their life for the better". If any reader out there has long hair and is planning to chop it off, I highly encourage you to donate your hair to Locks of Love. Your contribution will brighten someone's life!
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