Embracing Baldness

Back on the mainland, as the Kama'aina call it, I never had the confidence to go out without my scarves or hats and bare my bald head. I guess, in large part, because cancer and the baldness that can result from treatment can invoke a rather uncomfortable feeling for many people. I'm guessing it's because they're just not sure what to say or how to react around someone who's sick with this disease.

I'm wondering, too, if I have kept the scarves on as a security blanket for me.

In Hawaii, however, it's rather difficult to swim in the ocean, pool, or go down the water slide (yes I said water slide - 2 man tube with Josef!) with a scarf or hat on my head. So, I went bald. My kids didn't care, and frankly that's all I really cared about.

There are many people, especially teenage girls, who give me a few prolonged stares. I guess they're trying to figure out whether or not I have cancer, alopecia, or just plain baldness.

I'm having to follow the advice I have given countless times to my children: Who cares what other people think? Truth is, I really don't care, otherwise, I probably wouldn't even don a bathing suit!

I must admit, it feels amazing to have the trade winds tousling my baby fine stubble and have the ocean spray splash on my head. It is a very free feeling, one I plan to remember for the rest of my life.

To quote a fellow warrior in the fight against breast cancer:

"Remember, we are so much more than our appearance, and our value goes so far beyond what people see on the outside every day. So celebrate that inner bald chick! We all have one.". Laura Berman, PhD