Chemotherapy and Hair Loss with Carol Combs

Carol Combs [00:00:09]:
I mean, I’ve been a client for almost 30 years now, and it’s like I’m a monk’s family. I mean, they know about me. And the people that they hire at hair club are caring people. I mean, they genuinely care about you. They want you to look your best. If ever I had a problem, I never worried about talking about it or asking it. Someone that’s just invaluable.

Kevin Rolston [00:00:53]:
Welcome to HairPot, the podcast where you get to hear real people talk about their hair journeys. Hair loss happens to people at different times and for different reasons, so each story is as unique as the next. Im your host, Kevin Ralston. And each week I get to interview people from different walks of life whove all been through hair loss in some form or fashion and have found a way to get their confidence and their hair back. Our guest today is Carol Combs. Her journey with hair loss began quite a while before she actually started to even lose her hair. When she was diagnosed with cancer in 1992, doctors gave her three weeks to three months to live. And now, 30 years later, she is still here to tell the tale.

Carol Combs [00:01:40]:
I actually had to go to the doctor because I had a lump that popped up on my neck. And I remember 1000 people coming in to town because I was putting on this huge thing for the company I worked for. And so I ran to the doctors at 08:00 a.m. In the morning, only to find out that I had to go immediately to the hospital because he said it was possible to cancel. Within that day that I found out I had three weeks to three months to live. And, I mean, I went straight to the hospital. They admitted me and spent two years.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:15]:
Getting, what a gut punch. I can only imagine, you know, when you sit down and you get that diagnosis that you have cancer. Now, how serious was it? Was it something that you’re going to be able to shake off? Or was it the kind of cancer where you better get your life in order?

Carol Combs [00:02:30]:
Well, at that point, that’s how they were talking to me. And I thought, wow, I mean, what can we do? What do we need to do? Let’s do it. And it wasn’t until like the fifth treatment that they thought, wow, you really get a chance to live.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:46]:
Wow.

Carol Combs [00:02:47]:
But, you know, I don’t know what it was, but I just took on an attitude like, I got way more life to live here. So, yeah, I’m not going out like this.

Kevin Rolston [00:02:58]:
And here you are 30 years later, and you are still going, Carol.

Carol Combs [00:03:01]:
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Absolutely.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:03]:
Now tell me what it was like, with your treatments for your cancer, did you go through chemo?

Carol Combs [00:03:08]:
I did. I went through a year and a half of chemo and then 54 consecutive treatments of radiation.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:18]:
Okay. And I’ve only heard the stories about chemotherapy. But it wrecks your body, right?

Carol Combs [00:03:24]:
Yeah. Well, I was very present in my work, and I took a lot of joy out of my work, and come to find out that, you know, I wasn’t going to be able to work, who was going to step into that role really kind of threw me.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:39]:
What kind of work were you doing at the time?

Carol Combs [00:03:41]:
I was an information technology manager at the time.

Kevin Rolston [00:03:47]:
Okay.

Carol Combs [00:03:47]:
And I was overseeing, like, company wide projects where we revamped the whole system from the computers all the way up to networking. I had about 300 people reporting to me, so it was pretty crazy.

Kevin Rolston [00:04:01]:
This sounds like the kind of job where you need a lot of energy for.

Carol Combs [00:04:04]:
You do. You absolutely do. And when you go through chemo, it’s like I just insisted on going to work, and after about the third treatment, I felt like somebody ran over me with a Mack truck.

Kevin Rolston [00:04:19]:
Despite the draining chemotherapy appointments, Carol insisted on going into work. But as her treatment progressed, it became harder and harder just to make it into the office. So she decided to take a step back and focus on her healing.

Carol Combs [00:04:35]:
I said, you know what? I need to take about six months off, concentrate on getting. It’s just full speed ahead. And I guess the best news was five treatments in when they said, wow, really working. And it looks like we’re gonna have a different conversation.

Kevin Rolston [00:04:50]:
Wow. How about that? I mean, obviously, priority wise, the first thing is extending your life and getting the most out of it. But, you know, after you get to that point and you’re now looking down the road and you’re looking at your life, what was the chemotherapy doing to your body? I assume you had hair loss issues, like a lot of people do when they go through chemotherapy.

Carol Combs [00:05:09]:
Yes. Which, you know, I know people talk about it, but, I mean, it was so devastating to me because I’m just such an extrovert. I love to be around people. I love working with people, and I get a lot of personal joy out of that. And to think that now I have to, like, hide and not be myself, that was more devastating than dealing with the disease itself.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:36]:
What did your hair loss do to your confidence?

Carol Combs [00:05:39]:
Well, like I said, I wanted to hide. I mean, anytime I had to speak, I’d groom somebody else to do the job. I just couldn’t bring myself to be that person. I felt like less of a person, actually.

Kevin Rolston [00:05:53]:
How were people treating you, and how did you feel like they treated you? Did you feel like as soon as people saw me and identified me, they first saw me as somebody who was trying to survive cancer? Did you feel like you kind of lost who you had been before you started chemo?

Carol Combs [00:06:08]:
Absolutely. I used to say I used to be this vibrant, go getter type of person, and now I was less than. And for me, internally, personally, that was the big struggle for me. Cause I thought, you know, I worked so hard to get where I was in my job, and now life’s just different. And I had just been married a year, so that was. Consider that. And, yeah, it was not a fun time.

Kevin Rolston [00:06:37]:
So tell me, you went to a meeting that really kind of started to turn things around back in May of 1995. It was a support group that you went to, and this was something where you were getting with other people who were at a younger age, who were battling cancer. Tell me about this meeting. And the person that you met that.

Carol Combs [00:06:55]:
Night certainly found out that there was a group called I’m too young for cancer, and it was a support group for people that were either living with terminal cancer or were in some kind of cancer treatment at the time. And I met a girl there who was going through brain cancer, and one day she came in with a head of. She had no hair. One day she comes in with a head of hair, and I was just blown away. And she said, my sister insisted on taking me to this place called hair club. And, I mean, I couldn’t quit touching it and just to see the change in her. Like, she was just, like, she just lit up, and I was like, wow, wow. Take me.

Carol Combs [00:07:38]:
Take me.

Kevin Rolston [00:07:46]:
Carol didn’t waste any time. When the young woman and her support group showed up with a full head of hair, Carol saw firsthand the change in her energy, and she knew she had to try it for herself.

Carol Combs [00:08:02]:
I’ll never forget the day. It was May 25, 1995, and I had a big retirement party that I had put on from somebody who had worked for the company for 40, and there were going to be over 300 people there, so. And I went with my new hair, and I was like my old self. Nobody looked at me differently. People were like, oh, did you get a perm? Your hair looks so great. And, I mean, in that moment, I just was so much joy. I mean, I thought, wow.

Kevin Rolston [00:08:36]:
It’S life changing.

Kevin Rolston [00:08:37]:
That’s amazing to feel like that, to feel like yourself again. Did you feel like this was kind of the moment where you felt the victory over cancer? You felt like the old Carol was back and that you had nothing but life to live.

Carol Combs [00:08:49]:
Absolutely. I mean, I was done with treatments at that point and wasn’t real sure, you know, how was it going to navigate back into my social life and all that and, you know, meeting that girl and one to hair club, seeing that it’s all now possible, that was huge. Just huge for me.

Kevin Rolston [00:09:09]:
So we’re talking about a good bit of time that has passed that you first went into the hair club to right now. So tell me about what that feeling is like today. Has it faded? Do you feel like you take your hair for granted or how do you still look at yourself in the mirror?

Carol Combs [00:09:23]:
Absolutely not. I do not take any of it for granted. And I say this all the time. Whenever I go and I have a service, it’s like the first time all over again. It’s like I get done and I’m just like, you know, it’s an aha moment. So I never take it for granted. I mean, I’m beyond blessed that I get to. I’m able to do.

Carol Combs [00:09:45]:
And the other person I want to thank really is my husband. You know, he’s just always been on board, regardless of what it would take to make that happen. The change in me was just so huge.

Kevin Rolston [00:09:58]:
It’s really powerful just to hear what having hair meant to Carol. I can’t imagine just how difficult it was for her. She went through all of that chemo and radiation, and when she finally started to get better, she still didn’t feel ready to go back out into the world. It’s almost like having Harrigan open up a door for Carole to step back into living her life. Carol has been a client with Hairclub for almost 30 years. I was really interested to know what kept her coming back to Hairclub after all this time. And I was surprised to find out. It had a lot to do with Hairclub’s team of professionals and the supportive space they create for their clients.

Carol Combs [00:10:40]:
That’s one of the things that I think keeps me going. I mean, I’ve been a client for almost 30 years now, and, you know, it’s like I’m a monk’s family. I mean, they know about me. And the people that they hire at hair club are caring people. I mean, they genuinely care about you. They want you to look your best. If ever I had a problem, I never worried about talking about it or asking someone. Yeah, that’s just invaluable.

Carol Combs [00:11:08]:
I mean, really, to have a group of people behind you and rooting for you. I’ve been fortunate to go to a handful of clubs around the United States.

Kevin Rolston [00:11:20]:
Okay.

Carol Combs [00:11:20]:
No matter where I go and when I go in there, I mean, it’s. You’re just taken care of, and that’s. That’s a wonderful feeling.

Kevin Rolston [00:11:28]:
Tell me a little bit about what it is like, because people probably would have that question that don’t know anything about this. And what is the maintenance like for your hair? And if you do find yourself in a situation where you’re traveling and you’re in a different place, how easy is it to find a hair club? What kind of supplies do you have to take with you? Do you find it to be a big hassle? Carol, what is it like?

Carol Combs [00:11:49]:
You know, I don’t, and I really. Maybe I’m fortunate, but my system really doesn’t require a whole lot for me. It pretty much stays in place until it’s time to go again. But, I mean, of course, I take some tape with me or things that I might need as far as, like, reaching out to another club, wherever I’m at. That’s been so simple and so easy. I mean, it’s just one phone call, and then they make the arrangements and tell me where to be, and that’s just invaluable. You know, regardless of where I go, I know I can have my hair needs or met.

Kevin Rolston [00:12:25]:
Tell me a little bit about the styles. Have you ever changed the style of your hair throughout these almost 30 years as a hair club client?

Carol Combs [00:12:31]:
Oh, absolutely. Like, the blonde is new for me just in the last five years.

Kevin Rolston [00:12:37]:
It looks great.

Carol Combs [00:12:38]:
And I just like to say blondes do have a little more fun.

Kevin Rolston [00:12:43]:
Yes, they do.

Carol Combs [00:12:44]:
But, yeah, so. And that’s been fun. Like, you can mix it up and do whatever you want.

Kevin Rolston [00:12:55]:
I think what really blows me away about what Carol just said is that she gets to enjoy something as normal as changing her hairstyle and color, just like anybody else would. Now, while that may not seem like a huge deal to some, for Carol, I know it means the world. Spending this time with her, talking about her story reminded me just how important it is to be grateful for the little things, like changing up your look or even just having a great hair day. So thank you, Carol, for coming on and sharing your story. Thank you for listening to another episode of Hairpaw. Check us out on Hair Club on Instagram or search us on Facebook to continue the conversation. And if you know someone who could benefit from hearing this episode, please consider sending it to them. If you’re enjoying the show, consider leaving us a rating or a review on your favorite podcast app.

Kevin Rolston [00:13:47]:
If you haven’t been over to our website yet, check it out by going to podcast dot hairclub.com. Until next time.