As Far As Medicine Has Come, Side Effects Are Still An Unavoidable Reality For Most Patients
My hope is that someday we can get rid of side effects and just deal with our problems firsthand.
Medicine has come a long way over the years. With new studies, new technology and new generations of minds, it's incredible the things that we are able to do.
The only downside that is hard to avoid, is side effects. Doctors are able to treat a wide variety of different things, but there is always a list of side effects that follow along. There is never a direct cure for anything.
In late 2014 I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The treatment plan was several cycles of chemotherapy followed by radiation every day for a month. It was a long process but by December 2015, I was told I was in remission. I felt like I could finally breathe again.
However, I had a new problem to deal with. I had to hope that none of the side effects would happen. They told me that due to my age and where the treatment was targeted, I was at a high risk to develop breast and or lung cancer later in life. It was kind of funny to me in a way, they were killing one cancer to put me at risk for new cancers.
I was also at risk for problems with my thyroid and heart. Well, just a few years after going into remission my thyroid levels were off. We waited a few months to see if the problem would correct itself, but it only got worse and I eventually had to go on medication for it. It was then that it kind of hit me that side effects are actually real and not just a list they read off on commercials for no reason.
I am also now on a high blood pressure medication. The concern with it is that it can lower my potassium levels, which can cause problems with my heart if it gets too low. So, we have to do blood work every six months to make sure the levels are OK. I try to eat things with potassium in them as well.
Don't get me wrong, I am thankful that they were able to kill my cancer. I'm thankful that there's medication out there to stabilize my blood pressure. I'm thankful that there's medication for my thyroid so that it doesn't need to be removed. I'm thankful that there's medication to help my bipolar disorder so that I'm able to properly function every day.
My hope is that as medicine further advances they will be able to find more direct treatments to try and avoid some of these side effects.
What treatments or medication have you had that have caused or can cause different side effects? What are your hopes for medicines? You never really think about these things until they affect you directly, but they're real, and they can change your entire life.
I Am Proud Of My Crazy Curls, They Embrace My Latina Heritage
Straight hair makes me go from Alvarez to Smith real quick.
I've had a complicated past with my hair.
Growing up, I didn't have the slightest clue on how to manage my curly hair. I'd brush through a thick, wild curl to get a fluffy, frizzy aftermath. I didn't know which products to use. I didn't know towel drying is the enemy. And I had no idea that satin pillows are a must. I'd throw my curls up in a messy bun with a headband to mask the wispies and call it a day.
I was bullied. My predominantly white Catholic school had no one else that looked like me. So, my hair was "frizzy" never "curly." Regardless if I was having a good hair day, I was never "pretty" because of my natural hair. I eventually used permanents that made my hair pin straight.
The bullying subsided until the permanent wore off. But when that happened, I'd just do a new treatment. I noticed the spots of damage and ignored them because I hated my crazy, Hispanic hair. I only caused more damage in high school by straightening it every day. The hair damage was so severe I eventually had to cut my hair off and had to kept it natural. I hated my hair. I hated how I looked.
But the damage forced me to figure out my hair. When I started college, I started learning how to manage them in a healthy way. I started getting compliments instead of comments. My hair grew, my curls were defined: I eventually fell in love with my natural hair.
My curls are my identifier.
I get the keratin treatment twice a year so my curls can be more defined rather than frizzy. I never straighten my hair in between the treatments, but whenever I get the treatment, my hair is straight for days.
Recently, I got the keratin treatment and I had a bit of an identity crisis. It's been a minute since I've straightened my hair, so a lot of my friends and family were shook. I looked like my young high school self. It threw me off whenever I looked in the mirror. But the responses I was getting were overwhelming.
I got everything from "You look like a white chick named Taylor Ann" to "You look better with straight hair." I got more praise. I got more attention from boys. I gained over 20 Instagram followers once I posted a picture with it.
I didn't like it. I didn't look Hispanic.
I have a very pale complexion and my curls is my main feature that shows my ethnicity. Whenever my hair is straightened, I look like your average white girl who's excited about the short line at Starbucks. Don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being Caucasian. I just became so proud of my heritage once I became more proud of my curls. It was all very unsettling, because why did I get so much praise? Because I fit this "white standard of beauty"?
All hair is beautiful hair. Hair that embraces who you are is even better. I don't care if I look better with "straight hair" because I love my curls.
My curly hair is me.