I am Kay Anderson and this is a tribute of my journey as a breast cancer survivor/thriver. For over two years, I was bald and my daughter, Tiffany, painted my head. The baldness started because of chemo - it continued because my painted head seemed to be an encouragement to others who are fighting against cancer. I no longer shave-and-paint all of the time, as our lives have become so busy that we cannot seem to keep up with everything. However, my cancer journey is the same, so I'll leave most everything as I wrote it when I began this journey in early 2009.

My story is about embracing adversity and releasing my inner butterfly. My hope is to inspire others to do the same.

Every day I know that people all over the country are praying for me. Every day I feel the love and support of my family and friends. And every day, wherever I go, complete strangers come up to embrace me and encourage me to keep up the fight.

My hair is growing back now but
I choose to shave my head, so I
can wear the beautiful paintings that my daughter, Tiffany, creates. I love the time we spend together. Equally, I love "putting
myself out there" in this way makes me accessible to people who want to share their experiences.

As a result of my experiences, I have a new appreciation for my faith, family, friendships and face paint.

The artwork on my head reflects my fun loving personality, and it makes people feel comfortable talking with me and sharing experiences. Cancer has touched so many lives!

The daily encouragement, hugs, tears and outpouring of love that I receive because of my beautifully bald head has been so empowering!

60% of women who have cancer say that the worst part is losing their hair. I want to encourage women to embrace the baldness, have fun with it and get on with fighting for their lives. If you're having fun along the way, you feel much more empowered and ready to fight the fight.

If you'd like to chat with me for any reason, please contact me:
Kay@BeautifullyBald.com

In honor of my cancer journey, and with the hope that there will soon be a cure for breast cancer, Tiffany designed a breast cancer ribbon pendant. Click on the picture for more information.