hair regrowth & loss during herceptin

[Her2nSue]

Hi All,

Has anyone out there started with hair, eyebrow and eyelash regrowth after finishing herceptin/taxol and then just continuing with herceptin for a year?

I started to have hair grow back in end of may, eyebrows filled in shortly after, same with eyelashes. My head hair has continued nicely, full and wavy, but still short like a Halle Berry hairstyle, but I'm noticing my eyebrows are starting to thin out and now I'm losing my eyelashes again, and they were just starting to look like my old eyes again. Is this normal? Onc. nurses have no answers for me, so I'm throwing in out there to you guys, where I ususally get my best results anyway.

Hope everyone is having a good day. Hugs to all.
Sue

[deb-steph]

i finished taxol/herceptin in june and my eyebrows, eyelashes and head hair have all been coming in nicely. on herceptin only since june and have not noticed any hair loss. don't know what that is but keep us posted.

[Becky]

Dear Sue


This has happened to me and many of us (losing the eyelashes again).

I don't know why it happens but it does - I didn't lose all of them the second time but a significant amount of them. It will be ok in time (it happened more than once but never as profound).

kind regards

Becky

[karen raines hunt]

HI,


The same thing happened to me..........my hair was coming back, eyebrows and eyelashes, then while just on Herceptin, I lost most of my eyelashes again. I did have surgery around that time to finish reconstruction and thought it might be due to the anesthesia. Mine have grown back again.........but do seem to still break off occasionally. I have to be very careful when removing eye makeup.

[tricia keegan]

I lost mine a couple of times just throughout the year on herceptin.I have'nt noticed any actual hair loss of my head but it has been very slow growing in.I finished chemo last Feb and only stopped wearing my wig in July and although I my hair is short it is very slow to grow still and I've heard of other people not on herceptin who have needed a hair cut by now! :(
Tricia

[Yorkiegirl]

I lost my eyelashes 3 times. I have a full head of hair now and all my eyebrows.

[geraldine]

I lost every hair on my body while having chemo....My hair and eyebrows/eyelashes started to grow in as soon as chemo stopped.. I went on to herceptin only and noticed that my hair was quite thin and gettimg thinner. I discovered, that my thyroid had shut down.. I am not saying that you have the same problem but its worth a shot...... ask your doctor for a thyroid test. Having read a lot of threads on this site, I have discovered that there are a huge number with thyroid problems incurred as a result of chemo. Please post any new info you receive.......!

God Bless
Geraldine

[EllaD]

I lost all of my hair also - eyelashes and eyebrows during the Taxol chemo, which ended in early February. The eyelashes came back in early April. Now I am still on herceptin only (tamoxiphen too) but have noticed a little eyelash loss. My hair is very slow growing and sooo think, compared to how it used to be. I still wear the wig to work. Someone just gave me the name of her beautician who has two clients just off of chemo.

I am learning that just about anything can happen with all of this medicine we are taking.

EllaD

[Sherryg683]

Yep, same here..my eyelashes suck. As soon as they start growing out, they thin again, same with eyebrows. I've been off chemo for going on 6 months. My hair on my head looks thicker than before but it's curly. It's slow growing though. Normal hair usually grows 1/2" a month, mine has grown out maybe 1" this whole time. I look like my guinea pig...sherryg683

[Her2nSue]

Hi Everyone,

Thank you all for your history's with herceptin and our hair growth. After reading all your posts, I guess we can just about expect anything. After we see the light of day (or fuzz should I say) after all the baldness from chemo, it's a shame it has to dim in losing or thinning eyebrows or eyelashes. It's a bit of a downer, just as things are coming back to normal, cancer/chemo lets us know that we are still dealing with it all. I've always had beautiful, long eyelashes, so when they start to fall out again for the second time, it just makes me sad. I try to keep the humor up, but sometimes it just gets to you. As for humor, I had seen one of those chea pet heads and I was going to buy one to see which one of us could grow hair faster, of course, the chea won hands down! Now if only the leg hairs would stop growing, that would be great. Thanks again everyone for your input. Oh, as for looking like a guinea pig...I'm sure you don't!
When my hair was just starting back, I said I felt like a fuzzy kiwi fruit. :-)

[Sherryg683]

My sister in law sent me this..thought we could relate to it...

It's All About How You Feel

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. "Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today?" So she did and she had a wonderful day.


The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "H-M-M," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today?" So she did and she had a grand day.


The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did and she had a fun, fun day.


The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. "YEA!" she exclaimed, "I don't have to fix my hair today!"


Attitude is everything.


Have a Good Day!


Be kinder than necessary , for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.


Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly....... Leave the rest to God

[tousled1]

Sherry,

Great story! Guess we should just be thankful for what we do have.

[EllaD]

That's what I enjoy on this site - you all have a sense of humor about these horrible side effects. Sure, losing eyebrows or lashes isn't the worst thing but I agree - it makes you so sad! Listening to tv commercials for makeup, hair products - real downer.

Here is a funny story. My granddaughter was visiting last Christmas and was quite curious about the whole hair loss thing. She was 3 then - very smart - I explained. A bit after this she sees one of my houseplants lost some leaves and she said " Look, Grandma, your plant lost its leaves, just like your hair." I laughed sooo hard.

Thanks for all your comments and stories!

EllaD