The Bald and the Beautiful: Staying True to Yourself During Breast Cancer and Chemotherapy

Yes, I lost my hair to chemotherapy. No, I don't want to talk about it. I admire Joan Lunden's courage for appearing bald on a recent cover of People magazine. Her message is one of hope and strength as she battles an aggressive form of breast cancer. Now I would like to see us take this a step further. Let's make it acceptable (perhaps even sexy, think Bruce Willis?) for women to be bald without the need for explanation. When I was diagnosed a few months ago with the same breast cancer that Lunden is facing, I was told repeatedly that if I didn't want to wear a wig, a bright scarf was a lovely alternative. No one suggested that it would be OK for me to appear bald in public. I am reasonably certain that oncologists do not have similar conversations with men. Lunden's message offers a disturbing glimpse into societal norms and what happens when we deviate from those norms. While a bald man goes virtually unnoticed, a bald woman becomes an aberrant focal point. What's wrong with her? Must be cancer. Why isn't she wearing a wig? Or hat? There are some lovely scarves! Joan Lunden told People "I knew I could be a voice for a quarter of a million women who are diagnosed every year with breast cancer, and I wanted to show that your health is more important than your hair. Your hair grows back after you stop chemo, and then you have your life." The unintentional message is that, as a woman, you only have your life back after your hair grows back. As if hair (for a woman) is s...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news