Gleevec pallor

[Guest guest]

Dear :

I can empathize with your frustration over your change in color. I too

experience the Gleevec " fairness. " In my case, however, I went from being a

beautiful Italian dark skinned woman to being very very very fair. It took a

while to adjust, but once I realized that the pure blues, greens, and reds of my

former life just made me look sick, I began to experiment with a new palette of

colors in which I look much healthier. For me this means apricot, oranges,

browns, tans, lime greens, and some pale blues. In general I look better in

" muddier " colors these days. These colors are the very ones that made me look

yucky in my pre-CML days. So, while I still look longingly at the deep blues

and Christmas reds of my former life, I know that I will look better in the new

shades, so when I shop I avoid even trying on the colors that no longer flatter

me. Overall, I think it is a small price to pay for staying alive. If you have

never " had your colors done " you might want to give it a t

ry. I think we can look healthy, but we just need to remember that we are now

fair skinned blondes and enjoy the new palette.

I also miss the sun. In the old days I could lay out all day with out sun

screen (I know, in retrospect really a stupid idea, but hey, I'm over 50 and

what did we know then?). Now I still enjoy a day at the beach or hanging out by

the pool (we live in Florida) but I do it with a 50 block sun screen, big hat,

and a sun blocking big shirt. Again, a small price to pay to continue to feel

the sun on my body (yep, I'm still above ground).

Maybe some day there will be a drug like Gleevec that allows us to regain our

melatonin, but until there is, I think that as far as chemotherapy side effects

go, these are OK.

Hope this helps.

Kathie in Flordia (formerly Kentucky)

dx 12/06/03

600 mg. Gleevec