Guys, guess what? I have some hair. Three weeks ago, I began to sprout horns. Triangular scruffy horns, positioned as one would expect on a creature of the netherworld. The beginning of a Dantean descent; Hell’s initiation package delivered to me via hair growth. It certainly looks comical. I guess these two patches received less radiation than the rest of my head. I also have a thin band of scruff along my hairline, about the shade of a five-o’clock-shadow. This scruff links my two triangles. Faint, yet evident. The rest of my head remains bald, although I am promised that there is one patch, the size of a coin, growing on the back of my skull. Perhaps this is my halo. I say the rest of my head is bald but that is not entirely true. There are a few brave follicles shooting their hairs upward, and these hairs stand erect upon my head like little antennae trying to communicate to another universe. Maybe this is where the triangles fit in. They are too precise to be theological, astronomy must be the answer. Maybe I ought to read some L. Ron Hubbard. Oh no, what am I thinking? Another look in the mirror and it is obvious. Two triangles and a thin strip, obviously I am growing cat ears. I look like I’m a member of Josie and the Pussycats, wearing a headband with feline ears on it. Or Minnie Mouse ears for the slightly younger audience. Perhaps I will reincarnate, perhaps I will become a cat. I know I have discussed this theory before. It isn’t satan or aliens that await me, it’s cats. I’ll start singing Memory now.
Whilst I am on the subject of hair, my sister-in-law Janine is shaving her head next week as part of Shave for a Cure. If this had all happened two years later, I may have been cured, and in two years time, someone else might be. This is in part due to the work performed by the Leukaemia and Blood Cancer Foundation. My life has certainly been prolonged by medical research. So if you feel inclined, please support her. I, personally, am looking forward to a little family regrowth challenge. Although, it isn’t really fair as I have a headstart of four months and a healthy dose of Prednisone at my advantage. I suppose I would be disqualified; steroid usage is frowned upon in any competition.
In other news, I have some rather choice cervical lymphadenopathy going on. Throughout my illness, my lymph nodes have expanded and contracted as they have deemed appropriate. This is classic with Hodgkin’s; the nodes tend to overreact during an infection. Problem here is, I appear to be infection free, yet these nodes are not contracting. One neck node is about the size of a peach, and all his buddy nodes have decided that the swell thing to do is expand. I have used a fruit analogy but in reality these nodes have a tactility of stone, impeding the movement of my neck. They make it difficult for me to toss my hair back over my shoulder, which of course I do frequently given my minxish nature and full head of hair. But aside from the restricted movement and the disconcerting aspect of a summertime fruit protruding from my neck, the swollen lymph nodes do not seem to affect me that much. Although I must say, it is nicer for one's tumours to be hidden. There is nothing like seeing a patchy neckless monster reflecting back at you each morning to make you feel content with the world.
I am also incredibly itchy. This is an early symptom of Hodgkin’s lymphoma and I remember being itchy when I was first diagnosed. It is odd, because other than the giant neck nodes, I have no other Hodgkin’s symptoms. I am pain free, have a healthy appetite, and a stable weight; I just have a need to scratch all the time. And at night my feet drive me insane. So that is a fun new development, and I bet I look super cool scratching my nodes in public. Other than that, I have been feeling pretty good of late. Really, I am only complaining about being itchy, so that must mean that things aren’t too bad.
Oh, and if you haven't picked up on my subtle links, you can sponsor Janine by clicking here.
