Oops, where's my hair?

Wednesday night, July 23, 2008, while we were still on the cruise, my hair started to fall out. It was only 13 short days after my first chemo, and it was falling fast!!!

Here's one of my first hair loss pictures:


In fact, 98% of my hair came out within 3 days! By Saturday night, my hair was MIA! Each time I went to wash my hair, I came out of the shower with a whole lot less. Although he was pre-warned, our cabin steward, Ben, was still shocked to see all the hair in the trash can. It was a good thing the ship had the 5K run that Sunday. I really needed another hat!!!

Being back at home now, I had decided to shop for a wig. So, I went over to Del Amo Fashion Wigs here in Torrance by the mall. This place was highly recommended by Dr. David Chan's office. Now I know why. I met with the owner, Young Rhee. She is very sweet and kind. She offered to give me a buzz cut, an offer I couldn't refuse!

Here are a few of my "before" pictures:


Looking pretty skimpy, huh?


Young, and her helper Rosie, are so compassionate to helping people with cancer. She has an open offer to any cancer patients for a free buzz. I'm really happy with my new hairless-doo! It's so much cooler, and so liberating! What do you think?


Uncle Angel and I now have something else in common! But, I outshine him for now. Boy, I need a tan up there!!! With my naturally thick hair, my scalp has never seen the light of day! Scary! Just like Uncle Fester, huh? I'm perfectly comfortable walking around bald, so I can tan it a bit, but I'll wear hats and scarves for the sake of others around me. I guess I'll have to start wearing some makeup more often too. After all, I don't want anyone to mistaken me for a man! But, I'm very happy being a WO-MAN!!!!!

So much to tell, so little time...

No news is good news, right? Well, our family was blessed with an incredible vacation with the Lais, the Moys, and the Wongs. We had a chance to play tourist for 3 days all over New York City, spent a day with the Reilly's in the United Nations, and we even went on a 9-days Caribbean cruise. Here are some of our cherished memories:


Our boys with the mini Statue of Liberty (near Ground Zero).

Ground Zero is looking much better with the new construction.


United Nations - Disarmament

Guitar crafted from a rifle.



Here we are roaming the streets of Times Square.

We went to a really fancy McDonald's here. It's three stories high, fully loaded with big screens, music videos, and disco lights! Can you imagine your kids' birthday bash here? It's a really fun atmosphere! Maybe it's cool enough for a teen party, eh?


Uncle Charlie met up with us at the Rockefeller Center. Hannah Montana and Natasha Bedingfield played here that evening!!! We were so close, and yet so far. Oh well, maybe next time we can stay to hear the music play.

Just me and my Hubby!


NYC has some good looking road blocks!!! No, no, no, not the guy with the sign! Take notice the mini liberty bells!!! They're much better than our white polls here in L.A., don't you think?


Michael and Yuki met us for dinner in Chinatown. What a beautiful couple they are. Congratulations on your engagement!!! We're so excited for you both!!!

What's dinner if we didn't follow it up with Gelato from Little Italy? Yummy and refreshing, especially in this humidity!


Yes, this is really SINBAD!!! He's really tall! He's kindly hunching down to take a picture with me. We were leaving our hotel at the same time! Good thing I stayed back to rest, or I would have missed him too!!!

He was performing that weekend. Too bad we didn't have time to catch his show. At least I didn't miss seeing him up-close and personal! hee hee hee


We took a ferry to Staten Island, and this was our fantastic view of the real Statue of Liberty herself! What a very special lady she is! I'm so proud to be an American! God bless the USA!!!!!


Sammi and Kristen went NUTS 4 NUTS! Hot and fresh!

We've finally boarded our cruise ship, the Caribbean Princess. It's huge and fancy! This is just the atrium inside the ship. Looks like a hotel lobby, huh?



Our kids met a few new friends, Matt and Sami, and Issac the magician man.


Here I am on our first stop, Grand Turk, the Capital of the Turks and Caicos Islands. Did you notice how I stayed close to our beautiful ship?


Our second stop was in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I'm glad we were able to take a stretch break at one of their beaches.



We went to visit El Yunque Rainforest here in Puerto Rico. Hey, who's big idea was it to take the "long" road!?!?!? That hike was so exhausting!!! But the waterfalls, streams, and trails were amazing, so I guess it was worth it. I suppose we all needed to work off some of that food we ate on the ship anyway!

Our third stop was in Saint Thomas, the U.S. Virgin Islands. Most of us had our shopping sprees accomplished here. We were all looking for great deals, so we didn't stop to take many pictures.

Here's one pic for the kids' sake, just before we boarded back on the ship with our loaded shopping bags!!! Bling, bling anyone?!?!?


We had a champagne party to attend.

Turns out the Champagne Gelato in the dining room was much stronger than the champagne from the party. Our kids were tasting the one with the Gelato!!! They were laughing all night long! Hmmm, I wonder if there's a connection here?!?!?!

Our fourth and final stop was at the Royal Naval Dockyard, the westernmost point in Bermuda. Of course, some of us had to go shopping!



So what's up with that door? That first step must be pretty painful, needless to say!

Some of the gang went to Hammerhead Snorkel Park. Here is Jordan, Karissa with Kyle, Natalie, Nicole, and Traci splashing in the clear blue water.

As in the tales of the Bermuda Triangle, we did hit a big dip on our way back to NYC. It only lasted a few seconds, but God wanted to remind us who was in control. There were just so much to do on the cruise ship, and not enough time to do it all. There were games to play, shows to see, money to win from the casino, tons of food to eat and eat and eat, treasure hunts to win, pictures to take, crafts to make, ballroom dancing, and line dancing too. There were even computer classes to take on board! Of course, thanks to Kathy, we had fun with a round of Speed Scrabble too!

The last day on the ship, they had a 5K walk On Deck For The Cure of Breast Cancer. How perfect was that?!?!? I made it about half way, got my hat, and ran for the snacks and drinks! Oh well, I'm definitely not in shape! But then again, round is a shape, isn't it!?!?!

Hey, our kids cleaned up pretty good for formal nights, don't you think?!?!?

Here are our beautiful young ladies, all dressed up for pictures and dinner.

Here are our very handsome "young men in black".

OMG!!! I must have blinked! Our babies are all grown up now!!! Yikes!

We had a ton of fun, bought a few things, met a lot of nice people, ate a lot of food, soaked in some sun and some scenery, but I guess we all have to come home to face reality, and to the credit card bills! Yikes! But, God is good, all the time!!! We were really blessed to have had this opportunity to enjoy this vacation. God has so much planned for each and every one of us. We need to all get out and embrace life. LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH... OFTEN!!! And for me, I make it a point to stop and kiss the babies!!! And Holy Hugs are for everyone!!!

Visitors! Yippee!

Today, I've been blessed with visits from some friends whom I have not seen in a while. I'm glad I was feeling well enough to keep up with everyone. Some were able to share a meal with me, some shared their time, but they all came to shared their love! I love giving and receiving Holy Hugs and Kisses!!! XOXOXO


Look who came to visit from Las Vegas... Letisha and Tony!


Stephanie, Audrey, and Casey!!!


Silly Uncle Angel...


Deena, Maria, and Sammie (not pictured)

I'm so grateful to be loved by so many. Thank you everyone for the many phone calls, emails, cards, gifts, and prayers!!! I know He hears us. God is good, all the time!

The Wellness Community, South Bay Cities

Earlier this morning, I was able to attend an introduction / luncheon at The Wellness Community located in Redondo Beach. It's a wonderful support group for cancer patients and their caregivers. It's solely run and funded by volunteers and donations. I'd heard great things about this place from Mimi Wong, Jackie (Wanda's neighbor who's a volunteer there), and from my oncologist, Doctor David Chan. Oh, I forgot to mention it earlier that my doctor has my DAD's name!!! Too funny, huh? God sent him to tell me about my breast cancer diagnosis. It was still hard to believe that he was talking about me, but his gentle, caring voice made it easier. Here's a picture of us, taken the day before my haircut.


The old me with Dr. David Chan

As far as my chemo goes, my only side effect so far are my swollen jaws. I'm having a hard time eating, and even talking (kinda, sorta, not really). Childhood memories of the mumps comes back to haunt me. We went out for dinner, but I was only able to eat mashed potatoes with gravy. It was quite yummy!



After dinner, we took a walk down to the pier to take a few pictures. I was very excited to point out The Wellness Community building to everyone (deja vu). Here's what I got from my camera.









The pier was a nice way to walk off some of our dinner. The smell of seafood filled the air. Thoughts of New England clam chowder and fried clam strips danced around in my head. I found myself craving for some... but,... oh well, not today! We will be back when I'm able to chew again, I'm sure of it.

Chemo Day #1

Can you believe that I drove this speed monster? Whewww!!! What a ride! I think I have a need for speed. Move over minivan... Well, maybe not.






I was given two different chemo drugs, Taxotere and Cytoxan. Overall, I think my first treatment went fairly well. I didn't faint at the sight of my blood!


Bobbie SooHoo, Bonnie Shepherd, Berda SooHoo... All of us "BS" girls were seated together! What are the odds of this?!?!? hee hee hee