for me, chemo went really well. i was never sick, but i could feel pain at the roots of my hair. i slept with a towel on my pillow because i was expecting it to fall out any day. the oncologist recommended shaving it off.
i think the loss of hair — facial hair, the eyelashes, everything — was difficult. i was more concerned about my hair than losing my breast, and when i went to see my hairdresser and asked her to shave my head, she said i was her third customer that day with
breast cancer. two days later i bought a wig.
after the last chemo treatment, i waited seven weeks for my blood to normalize and had another mri scan, all to get ready for breast surgery on march 17, 2020.
monika (fourth person from the right) and her walking group in dorval. supplied
i was more concerned about my hair than losing my breast
it was the friday before, march 13, that everything stopped in quebec because of covid-19. all weekend, i kept thinking they’re going to cancel my surgery. i knew from experience at work that if something is going on, the first thing you do is call patients to postpone surgery. i was dreading that phone call. but when i got the call, i was told the surgery was still on.
i would have the right breast removed and two lymph nodes biopsied. if the lymph nodes were clear, i’d be fine. if they were not, that meant the cancer had spread.
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