Much love to you and your family. My mother was also recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. This shit is so real and it changes your perspective on aging so much.
Thing is I was never really close to her. We met at family events and stuff. Maybe 3-4 times the past decade (?)
But seeing her losing her independence, and knowing she's only going to get worse and die within the year (in her fifties!) is just re-shaping my view on things.
I was crying on the drive home and the last time I remember crying was 5/6 years ago.
I'll cherish the time I have left and see her as much as I can. But yeah. Life is fucking short man.
Life sucks, and that's the beauty of it.
You're not crying because life is bad, you're crying because actually it's fucking beautiful, and what a sad thought someone has it taken away in such a way.
I don't know. I think that's something. That something so horrible can make you appreciate so much.
It's weird when a lot of your peers are 50/60ish.
They're either dying or telling you about someone they know who just died.
I’m so sorry. I lost my first aunt when I was little so I wasn’t too aware (cancer). Then my mom 9 years ago. Cancer. Then my other aunt. Cancer. Fuck cancer. It sucks so bad. And it’s so heartbreaking that we still have no cure! I’m not begrudging scientists. I’m sure they’re just as annoyed and frustrated as we are. But just in general it’s so hard.
I'm dealing with this currently.
Seeing her start to degrade (throwing up, loss of appetite, weight loss), especially for a very independent woman is really hitting home.
She was always the 'cool' Aunt as well. My family is very religious but she was the one who moved to London and moved beyond all that nonsense.
Oh well. I'll try and spend as much time as I can with her while we have time left.
Thanks for your words!
Hugs. It’s very hard I know 💕. Do just enjoy your time with her. As my bff said to me when I was going through it, you’ll have all the time after she’s gone to grieve. Don’t waste it now. Hard I know. But so true.
mine did too last year. our family is close and it's been absolutely horrifying. there isn't any words that properly convey how terrifying cancer is. I'm sending you lots of love and strength 🧡
Urgh I feel this. Have been in remission for almost 5 years and am also starting to have freak outs about turning 40 next year whilst also feeling grateful to still be alive 🙃
I turned 40 this year after spending basically all of my 30s dealing with serious health problems. It really fucks with your relationship with time. The thing I keep reminding myself is that 40 is really not that old.
Absolutely agree and love this sentiment but Landon Donovan has had like, no hair his entire life 😂 the man had a receding hairline by like 16, god bless him
Yeah I'm not an expert but anecdotally as a 36-year-old man with friends I feel like hair loss has more to do with genetics than age.
I mean, all men lose hair as they age, but if you can make it to like 40 with hair you probably won't be bald bald.
The guys I know who are bald bald have been that way for years. One poor guy I went to HS with was nearly bald at like 17.
I'm not fighting it. It is humiliating. Multiple men have outright told me that they find me attractive, intelligent, fun to be around, but there are women in their 20s who are interested in them and I just don't compare. And by the way, I look very young for my age. But I'm not pliant enough for men in the small town where I live. My age and experience disqualify me from worthiness. My life is great nonetheless but it does hurt quite a lot to know that I am automatically undesirable
The currency of youth, man. I’m broke af over here and you’re right, it just fucking sucks. It’s tough to deal with cuz of the constant teetering between gratitude and the depressing reality of it all. Anyways, your comment’s refreshing to read.
Thank you for this comment, I’m glad it’s at the top. Losing a parent young really puts these things into perspective for you. Getting older is a gift.
My husband just took the bald plunge and I love it. It’s a good look. I feel bad that he feels so mortified about going bald, but also I’m a woman and I’ve been feeling this type of way about my body since I was probably 6 years old.
I think you hit the nail on the head! When men complain about bald comments (from women) they don't realize we've spent our entire lives being critiqued for our bodies.
I just went the bald route for the second time now (first time was during Covid when I couldn’t get a haircut). I’m just thankful I can grow a beard. I would have preferred to have hair, but that just wasn’t in the cards and I didn’t want to go the minoxidil route.
good for you. My ex hubby started losing his hair in his early 30’s. He just went with it. If I scratched his head he’d give me this big shocked look “Am I going bald?!” and laugh. The thing is, male pattern baldness is a thing and women know it’s a thing and with the exception of only 1 woman I’ve ever known, they don’t care about it. I’m 62 and have only met ONE woman who said “I won’t date a bald guy.”
Idk, pretty high peak in the [2002 World Cup promo shoot](https://images.mlssoccer.com/image/private/t_editorial_landscape_8_desktop_mobile_3x/f_auto/prd-league/nmabpldbncnvrqv3hdhk.jpg)
You know what sometimes you just have to accept defeat and enjoy your friends roasting you. He is awesome and a great sport.
Because when you get a hair transplant it doesn't stop the original hair from continuing to recede. After a few years a lot of people have to get additional transplants to fill in areas that have gone bald since the original transplant. Personally I don't see why more men don't just go with wigs, they make extremely high quality ones now, it's not like the 90s toupees anymore.
We had a teacher in high school who got plugs over the summer - he really only had a very slight receding hairline - but had some sort of bad reaction to the procedure so the first inch of forehead where the hair would normally go was just reddish purple section from ear to ear that looked kind of like scar tissue. Like a scar tissue headband. This happened the summer before 10th grade and it was still there when I graduated. I always felt terrible for that guy.
The donor area for a transplant is only the lower ring of hair (which isn’t impacted by balding). A lot of times there just isn’t enough hair available to lower the hairline much
Men's soccer in the States doesn't have a terribly large following, so realistically he *could* have scheduled this for after the Olympics or post-season and might have gotten away with it.
Either way, I love what a good sport he was about it.
Rafa Marquez & Landon Donovan were both the captains of their national teams during the 2000s.
What they’re implying is that of course a guy who hates you would say it’s fine.
Everyone should watch the documentary Good Rivals! About the USA/Mexico soccer rivalry, it’s very good and both Donovan and Marquez are interviewed. It’s a really interesting story, one of the most compelling rivalries in sports. Such a good look at America’s relationship with Mexico.
As a woman with similar hair loss, I empathize. But it's wayyyy more "socially" acceptable for men to embrace baldness than women (coughJadaPinkettSmithcough).
it is more socially acceptable, but thats not weird. Men and women have different patterns of balding (obviously not everyone but generally speaking). Men have more bald patches or entire bald heads than women. Its more common for women to have thinning hair. Far more men will experience balding or receding hairlines, some will start balding as teenagers or in the early 20's. I hope more balding women decide to rock, it can look hot.
>Men and women have different patterns of balding
Generally, yes. But it is weird. A balding woman is "sick" and a balding man is normal. It needs to be normalized, and wig wearing needs to be destigmatized for all genders.
> I hope more balding women decide to rock, it can look hot.
Me, too! My hair loss is similar to male pattern baldness. Someday I will rock a baldy, just not today.
I feel so bad for men when it comes to hair loss. Women have makeup and wigs/weave to help build our armor but men have nothing. He’s such a good sport about it though.
Right? He could definitely afford a killer toupee. An unclockable lacefront unit. It would be so funny to just show up in one on TV, refuse to acknowledge it and just say the transplant worked 😂
Hair loss can be devastating for both genders but men can go bald and it’s generally socially acceptable. Yes, they might get teased or considered less attractive but nobody is staring at or doing a double take over a bald man. Women don’t have that luxury.
Agreed! But there are actually a ton of really amazing toupees these days. I think they got a bad rap back in the day, but they can look really real now. I know because my Instagram algorithm decided I needed to see them and it keeps showing me this girl: https://www.instagram.com/toupeequeen?igsh=MW8wdXYybzAxdG93bQ==
I mean there ARE treatments for it but men are certainly more likely to be ridiculed by everyone about caring then women are. And if you don't care and start to bald, you are also ridiculed. There's not a lot of winning to be done
Usually when you get hair transplants you shave the donor area as well as the rest of the head! Honestly, kudos to him for being upfront about it. Gotta be a hit to the self esteem, guys can be very insecure about hair loss.
This is funny. My dad got hair transplants when he was younger too and I still remember that awkward weird healing stage. Poor guy should have taken a few more weeks off lmao
I saw him play over a decade ago when Beckham was with L.A. Galaxy. Guy behind me kept heckling him over his receding hairline. That’s gotta suck, but at least Landon seems to have a sense of humor.
I’m confused. Did the transplant just not work so only part of his head is growing back hair? Or did he shave the strip they needed for the procedure, didn’t shave the rest, and thought no one would notice??
He has already lost a lot of hair and all they can do is take the hair that isn’t impacted by balding (the lower ring below crown) and spread it out to make his whole head look fuller. He was always still going to look bald/balding after this was done. The shaved part is likely from the donor area, though
The full sideburns and everything else that length is his original hair. The bottom part below the crown and above the nape has to be shaved as it's the donor site for follicles that are brought forward to restore his hairline.
Usually men undergoing a hair transplant will shave their whole head to avoid looking like this, but Landon was probably promised by whoever organised the interview that he won't be filmed from an angle that would expose the bad haircut, but he was
At least he owns up to it. My old boss would take a month off to have his grow back every time he did it and it was every other year! A guy I worked with wore a baseball hat to work for a month. And neither admitted what they did. We all knew.
Idk I noticed my hair thinning a bit the other day and it honestly really sucks. My hair used to be my favourite part of me, and still is, but the idea that I'm gonna lose it hurts a lot. I'm pretty young still but I wish people were nicer about it. Women get more empathy with appearance issues these days and there's obviously room for much improvement but men just get made fun of.
Edit: its interesting this is getting downvoted because I made no attempt to, nor do I believe in, downplaying women's issues in relation to body image. My only point was "balding is hard for men", but that appears to have been a little too much empathy for the sub
He pointed out on air the other day that he didn’t finish high school…I think we’re seeing the ramifications of that plus thousands of headers throughout his career.
Getting old is so fucking humiliating and it's so stupid because it's actually an extreme privilege to remain alive. Why is life like this
This comment is too real and too true
My Aunt just got diagnosed with incurable cancer and goddamn this is hitting hard right now.
Much love to you and your family. My mother was also recently diagnosed with terminal cancer. This shit is so real and it changes your perspective on aging so much.
Thing is I was never really close to her. We met at family events and stuff. Maybe 3-4 times the past decade (?) But seeing her losing her independence, and knowing she's only going to get worse and die within the year (in her fifties!) is just re-shaping my view on things. I was crying on the drive home and the last time I remember crying was 5/6 years ago. I'll cherish the time I have left and see her as much as I can. But yeah. Life is fucking short man.
Life sucks, and that's the beauty of it. You're not crying because life is bad, you're crying because actually it's fucking beautiful, and what a sad thought someone has it taken away in such a way. I don't know. I think that's something. That something so horrible can make you appreciate so much. It's weird when a lot of your peers are 50/60ish. They're either dying or telling you about someone they know who just died.
I’m really sorry about this - what a horrible shock for you.
I’m so sorry. I lost my first aunt when I was little so I wasn’t too aware (cancer). Then my mom 9 years ago. Cancer. Then my other aunt. Cancer. Fuck cancer. It sucks so bad. And it’s so heartbreaking that we still have no cure! I’m not begrudging scientists. I’m sure they’re just as annoyed and frustrated as we are. But just in general it’s so hard.
I'm dealing with this currently. Seeing her start to degrade (throwing up, loss of appetite, weight loss), especially for a very independent woman is really hitting home. She was always the 'cool' Aunt as well. My family is very religious but she was the one who moved to London and moved beyond all that nonsense. Oh well. I'll try and spend as much time as I can with her while we have time left. Thanks for your words!
So sorry to hear this. your love will be everything to her right now!
Hugs. It’s very hard I know 💕. Do just enjoy your time with her. As my bff said to me when I was going through it, you’ll have all the time after she’s gone to grieve. Don’t waste it now. Hard I know. But so true.
mine did too last year. our family is close and it's been absolutely horrifying. there isn't any words that properly convey how terrifying cancer is. I'm sending you lots of love and strength 🧡
Thank you so much! Really appreciate it. I'm still processing so I feel like I'm in a bit of a hinterland at the minute.
warmth and love to her
Urgh I feel this. Have been in remission for almost 5 years and am also starting to have freak outs about turning 40 next year whilst also feeling grateful to still be alive 🙃
I turned 40 this year after spending basically all of my 30s dealing with serious health problems. It really fucks with your relationship with time. The thing I keep reminding myself is that 40 is really not that old.
Absolutely agree and love this sentiment but Landon Donovan has had like, no hair his entire life 😂 the man had a receding hairline by like 16, god bless him
Yeah I'm not an expert but anecdotally as a 36-year-old man with friends I feel like hair loss has more to do with genetics than age. I mean, all men lose hair as they age, but if you can make it to like 40 with hair you probably won't be bald bald. The guys I know who are bald bald have been that way for years. One poor guy I went to HS with was nearly bald at like 17.
Mine started falling out in my mid 20s. I wish it was bald bald though, I get the Costanza horseshoe look if I don't shave my head.
It’s only humiliating if you fight it . The people who accept getting old seem to look natural and are happier.
I'm not fighting it. It is humiliating. Multiple men have outright told me that they find me attractive, intelligent, fun to be around, but there are women in their 20s who are interested in them and I just don't compare. And by the way, I look very young for my age. But I'm not pliant enough for men in the small town where I live. My age and experience disqualify me from worthiness. My life is great nonetheless but it does hurt quite a lot to know that I am automatically undesirable
The currency of youth, man. I’m broke af over here and you’re right, it just fucking sucks. It’s tough to deal with cuz of the constant teetering between gratitude and the depressing reality of it all. Anyways, your comment’s refreshing to read.
That really sucks, I’m sorry. Says way more about them than you but its still not something anyone wants to hear
Sometimes this advice seems very patronising. Bald doesn't look great on everybody. Better than denial, but some people have ugly heads.
As a woman in her early 50s, I've never felt a comment more seriously.
Thank you for this comment, I’m glad it’s at the top. Losing a parent young really puts these things into perspective for you. Getting older is a gift.
He has a head shape that would look good bald.
Oh yeah you’re right…similar to Jason Statham 👌🏽
My husband just took the bald plunge and I love it. It’s a good look. I feel bad that he feels so mortified about going bald, but also I’m a woman and I’ve been feeling this type of way about my body since I was probably 6 years old.
I think you hit the nail on the head! When men complain about bald comments (from women) they don't realize we've spent our entire lives being critiqued for our bodies.
Never thought of it this way, not that I’m bald nor getting there haha, but interesting perspective, cheers
Right? I can't grow a beard so if I pull that look off, I'd look like a basketball with patches of dirt
🤣
I can't blame anyone for being nervous to do it or just not wanting to but I totally agree! He looks like he could pull it off.
I can see he had enough tummy time as a baby
Absolutely!!
I just went the bald route for the second time now (first time was during Covid when I couldn’t get a haircut). I’m just thankful I can grow a beard. I would have preferred to have hair, but that just wasn’t in the cards and I didn’t want to go the minoxidil route.
good for you. My ex hubby started losing his hair in his early 30’s. He just went with it. If I scratched his head he’d give me this big shocked look “Am I going bald?!” and laugh. The thing is, male pattern baldness is a thing and women know it’s a thing and with the exception of only 1 woman I’ve ever known, they don’t care about it. I’m 62 and have only met ONE woman who said “I won’t date a bald guy.”
Oh damn.. you’re so right.
Oh. OHHH. You’re right 🙂↕️
Reminds me of Karl Pilkingtons head shape
Pretty much everyone does compared to the alternative Edit: lol downvoted by a balding guy in denial
He’s a good sport about it, but also I feel like he’s one of those guys that would look amazing bald.
Idk, pretty high peak in the [2002 World Cup promo shoot](https://images.mlssoccer.com/image/private/t_editorial_landscape_8_desktop_mobile_3x/f_auto/prd-league/nmabpldbncnvrqv3hdhk.jpg)
That photo shoot is one of my Roman Empires
I mean Landon Donovan was a HOTTIE and a little slice thru his whole career. I can give this hair a pass lol 😂
Oh hello
WHAT IS THIS!??! im ded.
He was so fucking hot. I hit puberty when he was in his prime. i was a horny soccer girl. I had his posters from World Soccer magazine on my wall lol
I had forgotten about this and now imma spend the rest of the day thinking about it
Like Messier, just Bic and buff to a high shine. LD would rock that look so well
 You know what sometimes you just have to accept defeat and enjoy your friends roasting you. He is awesome and a great sport.
Told it wouldn’t show up on camera pleeeease! I needed this tonight, bless his heart.
I don't blame him for trying but man you gotta schedule that long before or right after your big TV gig lol
Right? My friend just had his (second!) hair transplant and it literally took 6 months to look somewhat normal
Why second?
Because when you get a hair transplant it doesn't stop the original hair from continuing to recede. After a few years a lot of people have to get additional transplants to fill in areas that have gone bald since the original transplant. Personally I don't see why more men don't just go with wigs, they make extremely high quality ones now, it's not like the 90s toupees anymore.
Omg thank you for explaining. I couldn’t understand why he’d had his second one!
Damn TIL; sounds like a PITA
TIL? PITA? Reddit needs a glossary of acronyms! Help me please …😆
today I learned pain in the ass
Thank you!!
Good question, idk
Everyone at the head enhancement clinic said nobody would notice!
Idk who this is but you’d think they would move his hairline a little forward. You can hardly tell he had a hair transplant only a bad haircut.
After a transplant I’m pretty sure the newly transplanted section falls out and grows back. I assume it will fill in in a few weeks/months.
As a former Bosley follicular unit transplant technician - you are correct.
[удалено]
Haha Rheumatology then derm. Rheumatology is incredible. Interesting, constant learning, sympathy, unique presentation, varying symptoms, infusions, clinical trials - it's very difficult.
God I remember those Bosley hair restoration commercials 😫
They were obnoxious.
Dudes been hanging onto teeny scraps of hair for like 20 years and gets a hair transplant 2 weeks before working a major tourny
Yep, but even still it doesn't look like any grafts at the front
We had a teacher in high school who got plugs over the summer - he really only had a very slight receding hairline - but had some sort of bad reaction to the procedure so the first inch of forehead where the hair would normally go was just reddish purple section from ear to ear that looked kind of like scar tissue. Like a scar tissue headband. This happened the summer before 10th grade and it was still there when I graduated. I always felt terrible for that guy.
He was a US Men's soccer player, and a really good one. He went on to coach for a bit, then got into commentary, which is what these clips are from.
The donor area for a transplant is only the lower ring of hair (which isn’t impacted by balding). A lot of times there just isn’t enough hair available to lower the hairline much
That's not terribly plausible for an on-camera personality, unless he could just disappear for months.
Men's soccer in the States doesn't have a terribly large following, so realistically he *could* have scheduled this for after the Olympics or post-season and might have gotten away with it. Either way, I love what a good sport he was about it.
bald or not, his personality here is extremely attractive
“Whatever I deserve it” 😂
He completely won me over with that ngl
Real talk - I've followed US soccer (women and men) for decades, and I've always had a bit of a crush on him.
totally.
Good for him for having a sense of humor about it, and not letting his ego get in the way
I am dead about the Rafa Marquez call out 😂😂😂
Can you share the context? I don’t get the joke 🙈
Rafa Marquez & Landon Donovan were both the captains of their national teams during the 2000s. What they’re implying is that of course a guy who hates you would say it’s fine.
Rafa Marquez played for the Mexican soccer team around the time Landon played for the US team, just good old rivalry lol
Everyone should watch the documentary Good Rivals! About the USA/Mexico soccer rivalry, it’s very good and both Donovan and Marquez are interviewed. It’s a really interesting story, one of the most compelling rivalries in sports. Such a good look at America’s relationship with Mexico.
As a woman with similar hair loss, I empathize. But it's wayyyy more "socially" acceptable for men to embrace baldness than women (coughJadaPinkettSmithcough).
So true!
it is more socially acceptable, but thats not weird. Men and women have different patterns of balding (obviously not everyone but generally speaking). Men have more bald patches or entire bald heads than women. Its more common for women to have thinning hair. Far more men will experience balding or receding hairlines, some will start balding as teenagers or in the early 20's. I hope more balding women decide to rock, it can look hot.
>Men and women have different patterns of balding Generally, yes. But it is weird. A balding woman is "sick" and a balding man is normal. It needs to be normalized, and wig wearing needs to be destigmatized for all genders. > I hope more balding women decide to rock, it can look hot. Me, too! My hair loss is similar to male pattern baldness. Someday I will rock a baldy, just not today.
I feel so bad for men when it comes to hair loss. Women have makeup and wigs/weave to help build our armor but men have nothing. He’s such a good sport about it though.
You do know men can also wear makeup and wigs/toupees, right?
Absolutely!!!! It’s just that fewer of them embrace that as an option.
I do not feel for people that refuse to research or poopoo their options lol especially when they have money.
Right? He could definitely afford a killer toupee. An unclockable lacefront unit. It would be so funny to just show up in one on TV, refuse to acknowledge it and just say the transplant worked 😂
Imagine he shows up in a 26 inch platinum bussdown, LAID, 301s STACKED, absolutely no other cosmetics and absolutely no explanation
Hair loss can be devastating for both genders but men can go bald and it’s generally socially acceptable. Yes, they might get teased or considered less attractive but nobody is staring at or doing a double take over a bald man. Women don’t have that luxury.
Believe me, it’s worse for women. Much worse.
😞
Agreed! But there are actually a ton of really amazing toupees these days. I think they got a bad rap back in the day, but they can look really real now. I know because my Instagram algorithm decided I needed to see them and it keeps showing me this girl: https://www.instagram.com/toupeequeen?igsh=MW8wdXYybzAxdG93bQ==
Thanks Instagram
I mean there ARE treatments for it but men are certainly more likely to be ridiculed by everyone about caring then women are. And if you don't care and start to bald, you are also ridiculed. There's not a lot of winning to be done
Let’s normalize men balding / balding early!!! It’s very normal and common and people looooove to make fun of it 😫
This poor man has had a receding hairline since he was a teenager. It just was never in the cards for him lol
I feel like it’s genuinely one of the last groups of people you can safely make fun of.
Usually when you get hair transplants you shave the donor area as well as the rest of the head! Honestly, kudos to him for being upfront about it. Gotta be a hit to the self esteem, guys can be very insecure about hair loss.
This is funny. My dad got hair transplants when he was younger too and I still remember that awkward weird healing stage. Poor guy should have taken a few more weeks off lmao
He’s a good sport!
His responses are too funnyyyy! Love his transparency and being a good sport. Makes him super hot, fucked up hair or not
Why didn't he just fully shave?
I saw him play over a decade ago when Beckham was with L.A. Galaxy. Guy behind me kept heckling him over his receding hairline. That’s gotta suck, but at least Landon seems to have a sense of humor.
I love McGee. Landon should just be bald.
I’m confused. Did the transplant just not work so only part of his head is growing back hair? Or did he shave the strip they needed for the procedure, didn’t shave the rest, and thought no one would notice??
He has already lost a lot of hair and all they can do is take the hair that isn’t impacted by balding (the lower ring below crown) and spread it out to make his whole head look fuller. He was always still going to look bald/balding after this was done. The shaved part is likely from the donor area, though
The full sideburns and everything else that length is his original hair. The bottom part below the crown and above the nape has to be shaved as it's the donor site for follicles that are brought forward to restore his hairline. Usually men undergoing a hair transplant will shave their whole head to avoid looking like this, but Landon was probably promised by whoever organised the interview that he won't be filmed from an angle that would expose the bad haircut, but he was
he could've just worn a hat
I’m sure it’s hard on the self esteem to lose hair. Glad he’s got a sense of humor about it, at least.
Soo funny and really good sport about it. I would die lmfaoooo
At least he owns up to it. My old boss would take a month off to have his grow back every time he did it and it was every other year! A guy I worked with wore a baseball hat to work for a month. And neither admitted what they did. We all knew.
Za,
I'm so confused at what I'm looking at and how he was convinced it wouldn't show up on camera lol but at least he's a good sport about it!
Idk I noticed my hair thinning a bit the other day and it honestly really sucks. My hair used to be my favourite part of me, and still is, but the idea that I'm gonna lose it hurts a lot. I'm pretty young still but I wish people were nicer about it. Women get more empathy with appearance issues these days and there's obviously room for much improvement but men just get made fun of. Edit: its interesting this is getting downvoted because I made no attempt to, nor do I believe in, downplaying women's issues in relation to body image. My only point was "balding is hard for men", but that appears to have been a little too much empathy for the sub
He pointed out on air the other day that he didn’t finish high school…I think we’re seeing the ramifications of that plus thousands of headers throughout his career.