Your looks are not what define you and neither does cancer

     It's that time of year when all the pink ribbons are out. Breast cancer awareness fundraisers will be in full force. You will see advertisements with women with bald heads and other people shaving theirs to show their support. What you won't see is the women who have lost their eyelashes and eyebrows as well as their hair. Often times it seems they try to convince us that a wig and a good lipstick make you feel like your old self. It doesn't. Anyone having gone through it knows exactly what I mean. The first time you pass a mirror after getting out of the shower and you do a double take thinking "Who the heck is that?!!" We as woman put so much emphasis on our looks at times.

    When you are stripped down to the bare minimum it is both humbling and disheartening at times. It took me a bit to adjust to this both times I went through it. But alas, it was a lesson and it taught me a lot about how I view myself as well as other women. It doesn't matter what I look like on the outside. I am not defined by my hair or weight or lack thereof. I am a wife, mom, aunt, cousin, daughter, friend and many other titles... That is the what needs to be valued.

    This is TEMPORARY please keep that in mind. Sooner or later your body finds a way to reinvent itself. I now have super curly hair but its just the new normal. Allow yourself the days of being sad, angry and disappointed...but don't let it be your entire day. If you got out of bed you are blessed. Don't be your "looks" be that awesome person on the inside that you know you are. While you are transitioning through it all, do what makes you feel good. Put on that blingy scarf or that platinum blonde wig. 

   So many of us are out here willing to offer support. So no matter what type of cancer you danced with  don't give it anymore than it has already taken. Do what makes you feel good and when you look in that mirror, look closely in the eyes looking back at you. You are still there, just evolving into a stronger more powerful you!

 

 

     Sparkle on ladies,

           Sally