{"id":881,"date":"2013-04-05T05:10:55","date_gmt":"2013-04-05T05:10:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/turningheadsproject.org\/?p=881"},"modified":"2013-07-26T16:58:26","modified_gmt":"2013-07-26T16:58:26","slug":"mary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/turning-heads.org\/mary\/","title":{"rendered":"Mary"},"content":{"rendered":"

I received my diagnosis over the phone the day after Thanksgiving 2007. \u00a0It was a strange relief to know why I felt so ill. I have stage 3 ovarian cancer. I know now that I was in shock. At this time in my mind’s “eye” I saw myself as being “pastel” while everyone else seemed to appear in “primary” colors.<\/p>\n

It wasn’t until I met my dear angelic-like oncology nurses who answered my many questions and concern with gentle honesty and offered practical solutions . They helped me restore my dignity as a human being and showed me the way to sustain hope and faith in myself by their example. I did not know about the wonderful Gilda’s Club yet. These amazing people behind the red door, support and inform in all ways possible through professional lectures,an onsite library,as well as a variety of workshops and active support groups. They welcome all transitions in this cancer facing process.It is so wonderful to have a social life with people who give and receive such a richness of spirit.<\/p>\n

I had my surgery – a complete hysterctomy – in January 2008. My first round of chemo followed immediately. I had 8 treatments that was interrupted once by a bout of shingles.Just to make my journey into remission interesting , I had to have a right hip replacement. This is my 5th year and I’ve been in weekly chemothrapy for the past 16 months and counting. I need to get my numbers down to a substantial place. It’s the side effects of cancer treatments that challenge me everyday: exhaustion, pain from neuropothy,dryness, brain fog and isolation.<\/p>\n

I have lost my hair twice and with my second round of chemo, I’ve been bald for almost a year and a half. In this time I’ve learned to embrace my baldness and flaunt it whenever I can. A couple of weeks after my 67th birthday, I had a most life-affirming experience from the wonderful women from Turning Heads . These talented, loving women, who themselves experienced baldness, set the tone for the photo shoot when I was greeted with warm hugs, loving eyes and enthusiasm. It’s been a long time since my ego or my soul, for that matter, felt more joyfully engaged. The entire expereience was playfully creative, exciting and uplifting! It was from these creative, artistic women that I found an energy inside me that I didn’t know was there anymore. I feel a deep gratitude towards these remarkable women who gave me a new, beautiful way of seeing my beautiful bald self.<\/p>\n

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