haircut

I got a haircut Saturday, so it's finally back to the way it was before I was diagnosed. Yay! No more carrying a comb, no more checking my hair in a mirror. It's still not 100% filled in yet, but unless you were to stand me next to my October 2004 self you wouldn't really know.

Today was my 10th radiation treatment, so I'm now halfway. Starting tomorrow they're going to use an esophageal block so my throat won't be as exposed and to hopefully minimize side effects. At this moment all I have is a feeling of a small lump in my throat when swallowing (actually just irritation, not a lump), which comes and goes. But this is the third week, so side effects should be more pronounced soon.

The Relay for Life was an interesting experience. It was held at Elyria Catholic High School's football stadium, and there were people walking around the track from 7 p.m. to noon the next day. Local Relay for Life teams have tents and canopies set up, usually for selling food, crafts, raffle tickets, etc. Our church's team sells the "hillbilly taco," which is taco meat poured into a small bag of Fritos with cheese on top, eaten with a spoon.

As a cancer survivor, I was given a bright yellow RfL shirt and medal. At 9:00, they had a little ceremony where a few people talked about loved ones that they lost, and explained the symbolism of a table with an empty chair that was set up. We then walked around the track and lit luminaries that were placed in memory and honor of cancer victims and survivors.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm not a very emotional person in the existential sense (which is handy when you have cancer), but being there, looking around at scores of other yellow shirts, seeing the hope in the eyes of people that one day we'll find a cure rather than just a treatment, thinking about how all these people (including me) have pulled through, was very moving.