Nearly three years ago, I did something that would impact my life and change it in ways that I never thought would happen.  I shaved my head.  Now, most people would say “so what?”  The thing is, I shaved it for a good reason.

A friend of mine, a co-worker, the woman who got me into the computer business years before, found out she had breast cancer.  She decided to shave her head before the chemo took it all.  It was fairly reasonable.  She knew she’d lose it anyway because of the way her hair reacted to everything.  A few of us, 2 women and 3 men, decided that we would show support and shave our heads, too.

It was the end of June and hot and it was something we could do to show someone that we cared about her a lot.

The newspaper showed up.  So did the local tv station.  That’s not why my life changed, though.

I kept it shaved for 6 months as she went in and out of the hospital.  I was stopped often by people in town saying they had read about us or saw us on tv and that they appreciated what we were doing.  I heard their stories about cancer and how it had affected their lives.  They told me of loved ones beating it and others who didn’t but whose lives lived on in their memories.

Six months down the road, it was winter.  I was cold from the heat loss through my head.  I was wearing doo-rags to bed to keep my head warm.  My friend was in the hospital again.

The chemo wasn’t working.  The cancer was now little lumps that had spread throughout her body and had become invasive.  It had spread to her brain.  She had six months to live.  She told me it was time to quit shaving our heads and just work on the future.

That was 2 1/2 years ago.  My friend is still alive but is saying her last goodbyes.  Nothing is helping anymore and she knows that she isn’t long for this world.

I bring this up because I found out last night that a high school teacher of mine was diagnosed with bone marrow cancer earlier this week and it is terminal.  She has gone through cancer before and has refused chemo that would have helped her because she was afraid of losing her hair.  She wouldn’t be going through this now, the doctors say, if she had taken care of it earlier.

She’s a beautiful woman.  She would be beautiful without hair.  It wouldn’t matter.

We become vain sometimes, though, in our quest to live in this world.  So much of the world is about looks and how young we appear.  It isn’t always about what is in our hearts or minds but how our skin has retained its youthful appearance and how long and wavy our hair still is.

I think both of these women are amazing and wonderful.  I am sad that this world will no longer have either of them in it.  I am sadder still because one of these women did not need to be in this place.

I wanted to link to sites where you could help out if you’re interested. 

I donated my hair to Locks of Love (http://www.locksoflove.com).  It goes to kids who are diagnosed with alopecia.

Children with Cancer Assistance Fund (http://www.childrenscancerresearch.org/) is ongoing funding for research and programs that help treat children with cancer.

Cancer Care (http://www.cancercare.org/) gives assistance (counseling, education, referral, etc.) to those with cancer.

Patient Centers (http://www.patientcenters.com/breastcancer/) specifically helps those with advanced metastatic breast cancer.

Alternative Cancer Therapy (http://www.cancure.org/financial_assistance.htm) is to give different types of help in alternative therapies.