• Synthetic wigs are cooler than human hair wigs, but you can't style them with heat
• Wigs can be washed with baby shampoo and hung with a clothespin to dry
• If you live in the Charlotte, NC, area, the Buddy Kemp Caring House has wigs for loan for cancer patients

Shave or Go Bald Naturally?

• It's kind of funny now, but wasn't for a long time.  EVERYone said I'd lose my hair - the doctor, nurses in the lab - and many fellow chemo patients who had lost theirs said it's much less traumatic to shave your head before the hair falls out - so I did - and, mine never fell out!!  I think it's good advice if your hair starts to fall out to shave it instead of slowly losing it, in my opinion.  BUT ... it's good advice to wait until it actually starts to fall out, just in case you, like me, are one of the "lucky ones" who doesn't lose their hair!

Makeup

• I learned at the American Cancer Society's "Look Good...Feel Better" class (held at Buddy Kemp Caring House in Charlotte) that you should never "double dip" into any cosmetics, due to possibility of bacterial infection because of our weakened immune system.
• Use the gentlest cleansers possible, and don't use any abrasive lotions, creams, etc.

Rest

• Get as much of it as you can, whenever you can.  It is while you're sleeping that your body rebuilds itself.

Port or No Port?

• You'll have to make the decision that is right with you, in consultation with your doctor.  I opted not to have one because I hated the idea of something else in my body that didn't "belong" there.  BUT, at times I have wished I had one, when I have to get multiple "sticks" for blood work, etc.  Then I talk to someone who has one and hear about how they have to get it flushed, etc., and I'm glad I didn't get one.

Nutrition

• I did a TON of research on the healing properties of different foods.  What you eat is very personal and a decision you alone can make, in consultation with your doctor.  My doctor recommended that I not make any big changes to my diet during chemo, and that I should eat meat for protein, and I followed his instructions (with good results)!  In an effort to rebuild and continue healing, soon after treatment concluded I began following a new diet of 85% raw foods (fruits, veggies, seeds, nuts, herbs).  Info on my diet can be found  at hacres.com.  Since I have begun eating this way, I have never felt better!
• I found that ginger ale helped a lot with nausea after chemo