Hair loss....or not

[BonnieR]

Not that long ago I was sad at the prospect of losing my hair. Well, now I have received my third round of THC (or is it TCH?) and have not lost it. My scalp looks like someone with VERY thin hair but I do not have to cover it. In fact I still have all my body hair. So now I am worried that the chemo is not working well enough!!! Although it is certainly giving me pain and dropping my blood count!
Have any of you had the same experience?

[tousled1]

Bonnie,

Don't worry about not loosing your hair. Not everyone who takes the Taxol looses their hair -- maybe you're one of the lucky ones. I kno when I had the Adrymiacin it was 2 weeks and my hair was gone. I'm now on Taxol/Carboplatin and my hair got so thin that I had to shave my head. This after my fifth treatment. My blood counts are really, really low and I couldn't get my last chemo treatment because of that. Also my eyelashes are just starting to thin out. Each of us reacts differently.

[rentrac]

Same thing happened to me. I was down to white wisps as the dark hair fell out, so I gave up and shaved it. White kept on growing but it was a while longer before the dark came back in. Result: Gorgeous white silky hair with a dark undercoat. The best hairdresser couldn't have reprodued it, and I wish I could (minus the Taxol). BTW, Taxol doesn't always cause total hair loss, but it's still working. Depending on your combo, and your unique qualities, you may or may not lose much body hair. With AC and Taxotere 2 months later, I lost all my head and body hair, but not my lashes and brows. With Taxol, Herceptin and Carboplatin, I got the stuff I just described, but lost my brows and all but 5 eyelashes. Wierd! The best thing about losing hair (besides it being cooler with hot flashes and it doesn't take much time to style after a shower) is that I can blame the rest of the family for hair left in the shower, cause it sure wasn't me!
Warmly,
Rentrac

[dhealey]

What hair I didn't lose while on Adrimyacin, I lost when on taxol, body hair, hair on head, eyelashes ( started to come back but fell out again) even eyebrows. I am 6 months out now from chemo treatments and everything has grown back in. Even the eyelashes, though not as long as they used to be. Hair is thicker and curly ( I don't do curly, but hey it's hair) It was great not having to shave legs and armpits, not spending money on haircuts or fixing it before going to work. My counts got very low on the taxol, particularly my hgb. They gave me injections of anrasep (sp) but even that didn't help. They also wanted me to get a transfusion a couple of times but I am very stubborn and said as long as I am standing and continuing to work, no thank you. It has taken 6 months for wbc and Hgb to return to normal. Not everyone loses all their hair during treatment, doesn't mean it's not working. Keep believing the chemo is doing its job.

[Cristina19]

Bonnie,

Greetings! I have been wondering how you did with Round 3. I've heard from some that 1 and 2 were "easy" and #3 hit them harder. Is any of this predictable?

As for hair loss, I keep tip-toeing around my hair, trying to brush it gently, expecting it to fall out en masse at any minute. In fact--and I've only had one infusion--I haven't had any more hair loss than normal in the shower. My scalp was very tender right after the infusion and is getting less-so now, 11 days out.

My barber (yes, I go to a lady barber!) insists that one of her clients used Nioxin shampoo (one of those shee-shee salon shampoos) with menthol in it and didn't lose her hair during chemo. I'm skeptical, and, anyway, since I'm avoiding any cosmetics with petroleum-derived ingredients, I'm not willing to try it. I use an organic shampoo and conditioner with peppermint and let it sit on my scalp so the mint and oils can soak in. Who knows if it helps? At least it feels good and my hair doesn't look totally chemo-fried during the day.

C.

P.S., ...I still have that "background" sick feeling most of the time.

[PinkGirl]

I think everyone is different. I lost most of my hair (everywhere) from the Adrimyacin. Then when I started Taxol, I lost the rest ... ( didn't have a hair on my body.) Before it was all gone, I shaved my head because I couldn't stand finding hair all over the house. Good luck the rest of the way.

[BonnieR]

We surely are all different!
Christina, I am finding the discomfort no worse after the 3rd round. Perhaps a little less. Still having pain but maybe I am just more "used" to it. And I take pain relievers in the evening when it peaks. Alot of fatigue but that is from my low blood count I assume. I hope by tomorrow (6 days after chemo) I will be coming out on the other side.. That seems to be the pattern I am establishing. One "bad" week and then 2 okay before starting the cycle again....
Keep the faith....

[Becky]

Dear Bonnie


Don't worry - not everyone looses their hair. Some people just thin out but not total loss.

The chemo is working none-the-less. I remember the one week of bad and the rest good only to start all over again. You are half done now though - Woo hoo!

[dorinda]

I Have Been On Taxol And Herceptine For 8 Months Now. My Onc. Stated I Might And Might Not Lose My Hair. Well, I Did ,the First Month My Hair Got So Thin I Finally Shaved It And Finally I Lost All My Body Hair ,eyelashes And Eyebrows. So During My Chemo Journey My Head Hair Has Gradually Grown Back . It Is Mostly Gray With Some Dark In. It Is Still Very Thin And I Still Wear A Hat. But The Body Hair Is Still Not Grown Back. I Think Everyone Is Differnt And Looks Like You My Be One Of The Lucky Ones That Dont Lose It All. Enjoy It. The Chemo Is Working. Take Care Dorinda

[kareneg]

The first time I had Taxol it took me five weeks to lose my hair. When I lose my hair my scalp gets very itchy. All four time it drove me nuts. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

[Kathy S in Tokyo]

We're in the same place still Bonnie, I've been on weekly Herceptin plus 3 weeks on 1 week off Taxol and had the tenth Taxol treatment yesterday. I didn't lose all of my hair, but have white wispy hair now and no eyebrows. I had an x-ray yesterday and compared it to a July x-ray and the Taxol has shrunk those nasty blobs very well. I can breath more easily now physically and phsychologically. My aunt had Taxol last year for colon cancer and she only had thinning of her hair too but is well and as wild as ever now.

[Joan S.]

I am going into my third round of taxol and herceptin. Before I started chemo, I got a "short" haircut. After three weeks my hair was all over the place. I went back to my hairdresser to get an even shorter haircut. Silly me, I thought she could do that. She told me she couldn't cut it because if she washed it, it would all come out in the sink. So she shaved it. I don't know who cried more me or her! My eyebrows and lashes are much thinner but they are still there. I think losing my eyelashes and eyebrows may be harder than than losing all the hair on my head! The hair on my head is growing but it's white "duck fuzz". In the end though, if going through this helps me to live, it will all have been worth it!!!!! Surely, one day, I pray I will get off the taxol and my hair will grow out as it was before.

[Melinda]

I finished TCH before I realized that my brows were missing. One day there the next gone.... I thought I was going crazy. The good news is that they grew back really fast. I think I only did "penciling" for about 2-3 weeks and all of a sudden they appeared again. Of course the hair on my legs is growing like wild flowers... and that is without any "miracle grow" Hair on my head.... now I am considered trendy with what some are calling a "nice hair cut". If they only knew.
I found that by shaving my head the hair comes in more "consistent" so to speak. I enjoyed the bald look... heck, no time to wate on styling in the AM! And it did not look or grow like a chia pet.
Melinda

[ExpectAMiracle]

My hair started coming out quite a bit between the 2nd and 3rd treatments of TCH. I had my head shaved by the wonderful woman that I had "proactively" bought my wig from. I just couldn't stand to see if come out like that. I thought I would keep the thin covering of hair left after the buzz, but eventually I looked like a light bulb. Just about ALL my hair came out. Strangely enough, my eyebrows and eyelashes fell out AFTER I finished chemo and my hair had started growing on my head. Almost three months after finishing chemo, I have about 1/2 inch of hair all over my head. It feels like baby hair and is darker than my hair was. But I am thankful to see it coming back. I'm still wearing my wig whenever I go out. My eyebrows returned quickly. My eyelashes are growing in pretty good now. Thye were gone about 2-3 weeks I guess.

My first two rounds of chemo were pretty symptom free. I was a little "woozy" and weak, but little to no nausea and etc. The last two (I had 4 total), I very very nauseated days 3,4 and 5 after chemo, but fine after that. I think everyone responds differently. I'm sure the chemo si doing its thing. Just be thankful to have hair!

God bless you!

[harrie]

I started losing my hair enough for me to want to buzz it off by day 11 of my first TCH treatment. I read that not losing your hair is not an indication of the treatment not working as it is suppose to. So if you don't lose your hair, you are just lucky! Good luck...
Maryanne

[BonnieR]

Hi everybody. Thanks for responding. Well, I still have some hair but my crown is pretty sparse now.
Attended "Look Good, Feel Better" at the Cancer Center yesterday. Just in time!!!They plopped a RED wig on me and everyone said "go for it" so I DID!! (I already had a wig in my normal silver color.)
We had company today who have not seen me since the diagnosis. Were they suprised to be greeted by a redhead!!! lol
Thank God the weather in the desert is cooling off. It had been too hot for a wig. Only in the 90s now!!!

I learned that the "Look Good..." program uses re-cycled, reconditioned wigs. So I will be able to donate mine when finished with them.

[Cristina19]

Hi Bonnie,

My hair was just hanging around happily until about 14 or 15 days after the first tx. Silly me, I thought it might hang around longer, but it started shedding in droves in that third week after tx. My sink was full, my shower drain, and the day when I finally called my lady-barber, I put some conditioner in my hair to make combing easier and when I rinsed it out, it matted like a long-haired doggie!! I couldn't comb it and ended up going to her with the most ultimate bad-hair day do!

I wasn't brave enough to shave it, so she gave me a pixie cut. I'm pretty sparse on top but the sides and back are still there so maybe I'll get away with the monk-look for a few days. I don't know how fast the rest will go.

When I take out my contacts and put on my glasses I look like Harry Potter!

=)

Cristina

[BonnieR]

what would we do without a sense of humor to see us through??
We have had company and I wore wigs yesterday. Scarf today. I still have whispy bangs and sideburns. Top of my head has, as you said, that "monk" thing going on......

[BonnieR]

funny hair remark from my husband yesterday. I was going in for chemo and debating whether to wear a wig or a scarf. then I said "it's a cancer center, theyre used to everything".
My husband commented "One of the top 10 signs you're in a bad cancer center, you walk in and they gasp "Oh My God! What happened to your HAIR?"!!! lol