Brain Cancer Awareness Nails

CW: cancer, death

My father passed away on September 1, 2020. He had been diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive form of brain cancer, in April of this year. 

My father's loss is a major one not just for the family, but also the world. He was the most cheerful person I have ever met. I can count the amount of times I saw him angry or sad on one hand. He loved to travel, hike, camp, volunteer at a national park, and worked his butt off to support us. Dad could also talk his head off about just about anything to do. He was a chatterbox, but fun as hell to talk to. 

We noticed that he was getting a little more forgetful over the years. He was in his sixties, and I assumed that he was developing early symptoms of dementia. That was concerning enough. Then he began to forget where he was, especially while driving. Then he couldn't remember his kids's names. When my mother called the doctor's office, they advised her to take him to the emergency room immediately. They believed that it was a stroke. A couple hours later we received a phone call that a scan detected a tumor on the right side of his brain. The next morning we discovered that not only was the tumor cancerous, but that his tumor was the most aggressive form of brain cancer it was. If he did not get surgery immediately, then he would pass within three months.

He did live past three months. However, between surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation, none were very effective for him. He passed just under five months from his diagnosis in early April. This is far below the average prognosis of 12 to 18 months for a glioblastoma patient. The one faint silver lining we have is that he was not in pain until the last week or so of his life. It was still heartbreaking to see such a bright and happy man decline so rapidly. 

It's no secret that cancer sucks. For the first few days after my dad's passing, I had no desire to change my nail polish. There were more important things to do, even if we did not have a funeral due to the ongoing pandemic. Eventually, however, the need for self care prevailed. Like many other conditions, brain cancer has an awareness ribbon. Its color is gray. I asked my family if we wanted to paint all our nails gray. My mother and sister said yes. I painted their nails with OPI Cement the Deal, a basic gray creme. Excuse the potato quality.

I waited to paint mine until later that night. My father was a vibrant man, so I wanted to make mine a little more lively than a plain creme, as beautiful as I find Cement the Deal. I first attempted an ombre with Cement the Deal and Super Moon Lacquer Rainbow Moon Heartache. Then I topped them off with a custom topper of mine called Healing Dust and Holo Taco's Flakie Holo Taco. And then I ended up bumping my hand into something while they were wet and ruined all but one finger. Whomp whomp. Emotionally and physically exhausted, I removed all but the intact nail and just painted on Rainbow Moon Heartache. Not that that is a bad thing. Rainbow Moon Heartache is one of my favorite gray polishes along with Femme Fatale The First Northern Witch. 

I like the result. I think the Rainbow Moon Heartache/Cement the Deal combo is gorgeous with or without flakie and shimmer toppers. The holo and shimmer within Rainbow Moon Heartache also gives the look life, like a busy brain doing its thing. It also reminds me of how lively my father was. I'm thinking about him imitating Johnny Bravo right now and smiling. Love ya, Dad.

Items Used:

Base: Holo Taco Long Lasting Base
Polishes: Holo Taco Not Milky White, Super Moon Lacquer Rainbow Moon Heartache, Halo Taco Flakie Holo Taco, custom polish Healing Dust
Top Coat: Glisten and Glow Top Coat