The Rebirth of my Hair :)

My hair is finally growing back! And its so soft.....I can't stop rubbing my own head! :)

Each day, as it comes in thicker and thicker, I feel more like a normal person again. I've retired my wig now....never really enjoyed wearing that thing anyways. It was too hot and itchy! Especially now that its getting warmer, and my hot flashes are more frequent, the wig would just be unnecessary torture. I prefer going au naturale.

Yeah I'm still getting hot flashes, as I'm in "chemopause". My period hasn't come back yet. Not sure when it will or if it will.......although since I'm so young there is a good chance I will receive my monthly presents again! Never have I looked so forward to getting those!

Anywayz...back to my hair. I can't say it was all bad to lose my hair. I have kind of enjoyed not having to style my hair everytime I'm going out......I just wash and go! I take only 2 hours to get ready now instead of 3 :P

I have also been so delighted to not have to shave for the few months. But now its all growing back in full force....I think I'm even getting more hair than before in some unwanted areas....like what's up with my sideburns??? Geeeeez can't a girl get a break.....is it too much to ask that my underarm hair and leg hair and unnecessary facial hair (and 'other area' hair) just don't come back?!?! I guess beggars can't be choosers:P

I am super glad that my head of hair is filling in now though. Here are my new fuzzies:

Woohoooo!!

Esperanza Update and Pics

Forgot to give you guys an update on how the Esperanza event went (on May 1). Well it was a HUGE SUCCESS!! Better than I could've even hoped :)

Everyone said they had so much fun and we got so many positive comments about everything.....the venue, the live band, the food, the raffle prizes, the entertainment and just the overall great feeling throughout the night! It made me feel so good to hear all the wonderful comments....and it just made all our efforts definintely worth it (times 10!).  Best of all, we made enough money so that Wayne and his brothers are now able to participate in the Ride to Conquer Cancer. AND there is extra money available to also help some of my team members participating in the Weekend to End Women's Cancers. Both events are to raise money for Princess Margaret Hospital (where I was treated).

There were many requests (and some threats) for us to make Esperanza an annual event.....our response: "YES, OF COURSE"! Its amazing how many people want to help such a great cause, and how good it makes people feel to be part of something positive like this!

Here are some pics of the night:

The team that put the night together! (Feel.So.Good Team):

Some of the raffle prizes (The tickets were 2 for $5, 5 for $10 OR 20 for $20! So many people were buying 20....it was great!):

The performers:

Some of the members of the Live Band:

The DJ's:

We served fruit punch:

Me with some of the volunteers that helped us that night (we couldn't have pulled this off without them):

A shot from above, so you can get an idea of the venue:

The staff that helped us out, and some of the goodies we served:



Thanks again to everyone who made this night happen! :)

Return to Work

Now that my treatments are over, and I am beginning to get back to "normal" life again, I have to think about my return to work. My feelings about this.....definitely not excitement....more anxiety and nervousness.

One reason I'm a bit anxious about starting work again is that I'm afraid I'll fall back into the same busy busy routine I had before my cancer diagnosis. I was working crazy hours, dancing quite a bit and pretty much didn't have much time to take care of myself. I always ate out, hardly ever had time to cook anything (and wasn't really motivated to cook). I didn't get to sleep enough as I would get home late on many nights, or end up doing work before I went to bed. And I was under a lot of stress with so many things going on and with the demands of work.

Now that I've had a chance to take a step back and re-evaluate my life, I've realized that I had my priorities all wrong! I feel like this diagnosis was meant to be a wake up call for me. A slap in the face and a "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING TO YOURSELF?!?!?"

But I was just doing what so many other people do. I wanted to work hard so that I can earn more money and be "successful". I found it hard to say no and just kept adding things onto my plate....getting caught up in the busy lifestyle which was not exactly the best lifestyle for my health.

Another thing that makes me nervous about going back to work is the fact that I've been out of work since September! Will I remember what I'm supposed to do or all the technical stuff? Will I be able to handle the workload when I go back since I've been out of it for so long? I'm sure they'll re-train me, but its still a bit of a scary thought.

I've been going to this "Return to Work" session at Wellspring which has been really great! There is a small group of us in this 8 week session, and it feels intimate and very supportive. We all get to discuss what we've been through and how much its affected us (which I realized is more than I thought). We share our fears and concerns, and then we get some excellent advice from the others. Its nice to know that there are other people out there thinking the same things as I am, and that its not just me going crazy!

I'm getting a little more prepared mentally to get back to work. But in the meantime, very much enjoying having the time to really take care of myself these days! I just hope I can keep it up once things start to get a bit more busy.

HHH - The cutest kids!

I mentioned before that I was planning a Hip Hop For Hope fundraiser, where we would be going to a few schools and teaching hip hop in order to raise money for my walk, The Weekend to End Women's Cancers. Well, over the past 2 months, we went to 3 different schools, and we had SO MUCH FUN!

The kids loved it, we loved it, and the feedback from the teachers were great! I have the cutest video to show you from one of the schools. We've been teaching from Kindergarten to Grade 8. Here are some of the little ones in action:

Aren't they adorable?? :D