The wig talk, during a walk (with my five year old).

1 minute read time.

FormerMember

28 May 2016

Before my diagnosis, I had little experience of cancer. I was offered the cold cap but due to time practicalities, decided to go without. However, despite all the information I was given about my hair falling out during chemo, naively I thought that due to the thickness of my hair, perhaps I would be the exception? Or if not, maybe I could get away with thin hair for a while. Wrong!

So after my hair started shedding sooner than I thought, on day 18 after my first treatment, the time had come to chat again with the little ones.

One blue-sky Sunday afternoon, me and the two boys take the long country walk up to Nanna and Pop's house. As we pass the fields, the boys chatter about the different types of horses grazing.

'That one's like a cow horse...that big one is definitely a knight's horse.'

Here I go. 'So you know mummy is having the very strong medicine which helps me. But that it makes my hair fall out?'

My five year old nods. The three year old in the pram is already nodding off.

'Well listen to this. Mummy may get a wig! But it will be like a secret, so only we will know it's actually me in disguise,' I say, trying to invoke his fascination with all things secret-spy.

'A wig?' He queries. 'One time I saw a lady with a long black wig on....'

'Er was this on one of your shows?'

'Yes. And she was feeding an ostrich and the ostrich snatched off her wig with its beak and she only had one strand of hair left!'

'Right, well thanks for the warning. I guess then we'd better avoid any ostriches.'

He nods authoritatively and we walk onwards.