‘Wicked’ Actress, 39, Says ‘I Have No Hair, But I Still Have My Spirit & My Joy’ — Kara Lindsay Determined To Beat Breast Cancer

Alongside the sweet poem, which was shared on her Instagram page, she wrote, “Today is World Cancer Day and it feels like the appropriate day to share this with you. I was recently diagnosed with Stage 2 Breast Cancer.

“Before I go further, I’m going to be ok. I feel very lucky that I caught this early and I will be on the other side of this very soon. I started 8 rounds of chemotherapy on October 24th and just finished on Jan 30th.”

The mom of one, who is married to actor Kevin Massey, continued, “So I’m celebrating closing this massive chapter in my healing journey! I have no hair, but I still have my spirit and my joy. I’m trying to find as much light in this dark time as possible.

“Again, I will be ok. Sharing this with you all feels freeing and allows me to walk forward authentically and with pride. Cancer certainly does not define me. However, this battle is now part of the fabric of who I am.”

Before concluding with a reason as to why she decided to share the cancer poem, she said, “I would now like to be called ‘Kara (kicking cancer’s ass) Lindsay’ please and thank you.”

Her side note read, “This is a picture of a poem my mom gave me that now lives on my fridge … also sent to me by my lifelong friend.”

The poem she shared was titled, “What Cancer Cannot Do,” by an unknown author, read, “It cannot cripple LOVE. It cannot shatter HOPE. It cannot corrode FAITH. It cannot destroy PEACE. It cannot kill FRIENDSHIP.

“It cannot suppress MEMORIES. It cannot silence COURAGE. It cannot invade the SOUL. It cannot steal ETERNAL LIFE. It cannot conquer the SPIRIT.”

Friends, loved ones and fans were quick to commented on her post, with one writing, “I don’t know that you understand how much your spirit and soul uplift the people you come in contact with on a daily basis. You embody the kindness and beauty that we all aspire to have. And we are here for you through this.”

While another wrote, “You are absolutely incredible, strong, amazing, and I am so incredibly proud of you warrior.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kara Lindsay (@karalindsay1)

Staying Grateful Amid Battling Disease & Coping With Hair Loss

It’s wonderful to see that Kara Lindsay has been able to maintain a positive outlook through disease. After a diagnosis, it’s understandably extremely difficult to feel grateful for, well, maybe anything. However, studies prove that patients who are able to stay uplifted and positive often have better treatment outcomes. That’s why mindset and attitude can be extremely valuable tools.

RELATED: Patients Do Better When They are Less Stressed

“The patients who do well with cancer, they live life with gratitude in terms of everything,” Dr. Zuri Murrell, a colorectal cancer surgeon and Director of the Cedars-Sinai Colorectal Cancer Center, tells SurvivorNet.

“They’re grateful, not for cancer, but they’re grateful for an opportunity to know that life is finite. They live life with [saying] ‘I love you’ to their husband, to their wife, to their kids. They can appreciate it for one of the first times ever because they know it may not be forever that they get to do this. Those are the patients that tend to do well with processing and also living a long, long life despite a diagnosis.”

Colon cancer survivor Kate Bowler says she felt pressured to look on the bright side during treatment

For many people going through cancer treatment, changes to the physical appearance like hair loss associated with chemotherapy, something Kara Lindsay has experienced, are a huge emotional burden. It can be difficult to adjust when you’re struggling to feel like yourself because you don’t look like yourself.

“For cancer patients losing one’s hair can be unbelievably stressful. To start with, the dread of losing one’s hair can lead to some sleepless nights and feelings of anxiety,” Dr. Samantha Boardman, a New York-based psychiatrist and author, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview. To cope, Dr. Boardman suggested reaching out to other survivors who have been through a similar situation if you feel comfortable doing so.

“Talk to people who have been through it, get their advice, voice your concerns to your caregiver and see what they can do,” Dr. Boardman added. She stressed that anxiety over hair loss doesn’t just affect women, as men going through cancer often struggle with it as well.

For those who can’t stand the idea of being seen without their hair, there are plenty of options available, such as wigs, head wraps, and hats. Some survivors have even created products specifically for people with cancer so they can feel comfortable in their own skin.

Living With Cancer: Coping With Hair Loss & the Anxiety it Brings

Dr. Boardman also noted that some people may not feel comfortable talking about hair loss, and that’s OK, too.

“To encourage them to bring that up, to encourage them to talk about it, I think can be very helpful,” she said. “But also, for patients it might be something that they don’t talk about. [And they should] feel good and strong about saying, ‘This is something that I don’t feel like discussing right now, and I’ll let you know when I do.’”

Learning About Stage 2 Breast Cancer & Breast Cancer Treatment

Stage 2 breast cancers are either larger than stage 1 tumors or have moved to a few nearby lymph nodes. Treatment will likely be some combination of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy. If chemotherapy is also needed after surgery, the radiation is delayed until the chemo is done. The same approach is taken to hormone receptor and HER2 positive as stage 1.

In Kara Lindsay’s case, her treatment include eight rounds of chemotherapy over the course of three months.

Breast Cancer: Introduction to Prevention & Screening

For anyone battling breast cancer, it’s important to understand that your doctor has many ways to treat breast cancer, including:

• Surgery
• Chemotherapy
• Radiation
• Hormone therapy
• Targeted therapy
• Immunotherapy

“It’s important to understand why your doctor is recommending a particular type of treatment,” Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center’s Dr. Jessica Tao previously told SurvivorNet.

Surgery

Most women with breast cancer will have surgery at some point in their treatment. Depending on how far your cancer has spread and your personal preferences, you and your doctor may decide to:

• Remove just the cancer and an area of healthy tissue around it (lumpectomy)
• Remove one breast (mastectomy)
• Remove both breasts (double mastectomy)
• Removing your breasts can have a dramatic effect on your self-esteem, which is why some women who opt for a mastectomy then choose breast reconstruction surgery. This is a highly personal choice, and there is no “right” answer as to whether or not to reconstruct.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses strong drugs to kill cancer all over the body. You may get this treatment to shrink a tumor before surgery, afterward to get rid of any remaining cancer cells, or on its own if you can’t have surgery.

Whether or not to have chemotherapy can also be a choice, depending on a woman’s age, type of cancer, and stage.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is the use of high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells and is typically used after surgery to lower the chance that the cancer will come back after treatment. Many women undergo radiation as part of their treatment, especially if they opt for a lumpectomy instead of a mastectomy.

Hormone Therapy

The hormones estrogen and progesterone help some breast cancers grow. Doctors refer to these types of cancers as hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers. Receptors are proteins on the surface of breast cells that receive messages from estrogen, progesterone, or both, telling them to grow. Treatments that block these hormones may help stop the tumor.

Testing the tumor sample from a biopsy helps to determine whether hormone therapies such as tamoxifen (Nolvadex) or anastrozole (Arimidex) might work against the cancer. Women with breast cancer that is fueled by estrogen may take one of these drugs as part of their treatment.

Immunotherapy and Targeted Therapy

Immunotherapy and targeted therapies are newer forms of treatment. Immunotherapy boosts your body’s own immune response to help it stop the cancer.

As their name suggests, targeted therapies target certain substances that help the cancer grow. For example, drugs like trastuzumab (Herceptin) and pertuzumab (Perjeta) treat breast cancers that have too much of a protein called HER2 on their surface.

Questions for Your Doctor

If you are faced with a decision regarding getting breast reconstruction or some form of a mastectomy, here are some questions you can ask your doctor to learn the best option for you.

• What is the recovery time for each?
• What are the risks and the probability of each?
• What can I expect my breasts to look and feel like?
• Can I do reconstruction later?
• What are the advantages and disadvantages of doing it now?
• Will my reconstruction options change if I wait?

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

---