About this blog


About this blog

The whole process of dealing with a cancer diagnosis can seem utterly terrifying and incredibly isolating. Following our daughter’s leukaemia diagnosis I felt compelled to use our own experiences to explain some of the many impacts that cancer has on a young person’s life and the way it affects so many people around them. Blogs written by Rachel

  • Patient Name: Suki
  • Cancer Type: Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia
  • Age when diagnosed: 4

Goldilocks

20th June 2019

“It’s only hair”

I will never forget seeing the first bald child soon after being admitted to the oncology ward. It took my breath away as it began to dawn on me this was now us, our daughter, our lives. It was just a small indication of what lay ahead. Shedding a tear, telling myself “it’s only hair”, but in reality knowing it meant so much more.

You quickly get used to the gasps and stares

The process of Suki losing her hair was distressing and tough. It became matted and fell out in handfuls from simply touching and brushing it, in less than an hour it was gone. But, within a matter of days, we quickly adjusted to our new look bald beauty. She’s rocked every style she has grown through since. Oddly, since her hair has returned we miss the bald look. You quickly get used to the gasps and stares, the nods and nudges. It gives strangers the smallest indication of what these children are going through.

New beautiful brown curls growing gives us great hope

Now in the maintenance stage of treatment, her hair is growing back thick and fast, and so very different from the long blond locks she had previously. Another huge milestone, it also masks the daily struggles these children still face, giving the false indication that everything is fine now, everything is over, everything is normal. While everything is far from fine, far from over, far from ‘normal’, we are so incredibly thankful to have reached this point. To see those new beautiful brown curls growing gives us great hope.   This article was reproduced by with permission from the author Rachel and was originally published on her Facebook and Instagram page. Want to share your story? Please email stories@childrenwithcancer.org.uk
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