FIGHTING LADY – THE LOSS OF HAIR

The side-effects appear immediately. The first thing to be affected is the immune system. Chemotherapy also destroys the white blood cells, so you soon have no defenses and get very tired. Then come nausea, digestive problems, and mouth infections that make any action painful. Drinking, sleeping, breathing: Youstruggle every second, day and night. Then, the 14thday arrives.

I lose my hair on October 26th 2013, a Saturday morning, while taking my shower. The very act of washing has become complicated since my surgery. There are bandages on my operated breast –this now horrible breast that looks like a stuffed veal cutlet. A nurse comes over regularly to change the bandages and clean the scar. This woman is a real beam of sunlight. There is a natural empathy in her eyes, a gentleness in her gestures. She makes me feel so much better, these moments almost become pleasant rituals. That Saturday, under the shower, I’m being careful not to wet the bandages. The water is running over my head and I suddenly see tufts of hair at my feet. I gently rub my scalp: Strands of hair come out by the handful. What I was so afraid of is happening. Fourteen days, not one more. I scream under the shower and collapse, hair blocks the drain. Bruno comes running in and carries me out, shouting even louder than me.