One woman's account of her hair loss post chemo

[Paula O]

“If God sends us stony paths, He provides strong shoes.” — Corrie ten Boom
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Excerpt below is from He Provides the Shoes, Walking with God through Breast Cancer By Karen Holmes

http://www.breastcancerandfaith.com/book_excerpts.htm

“As expected, but nonetheless extremely emotionally upsetting, shortly after my first dose of chemotherapy, my shoulder-length thick curly hair began to fall out in small clumps. The entry below describes my feelings surrounding my own head-shaving ordeal, an act meticulously performed by my lovely beautician (p. 50):
“Then I heard her click it on and the telltale buzzing sound began. I had the crazy thought that it was like some great mutant insect descending on my head intent on destroying my hair like some biblical plague. I clenched my teeth to shore up my resolve, and then I forced myself to open my eyes and watch with a sort of fascinated horror as the shaving of my head commenced. When it was over I felt as if I’d been through a rite of passage: ‘Your head has been shaved! You’ve now entered the Land of Cancer. Please exit to your left.’”

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I too had my hair buzz cut. My 14-yr-old daughter at the time volunteered to do it for me. We brought the clippers along with us on vacation and my family and I laughed and cried through that experience together. It was empowering to take control of the copious shedding of hair when so many things seemed out of control because of the cancer.

It was a good decision for me to "let go" of the hating being bald part (and I sure did find that part hard) and embrace deciding to choose to have fun with experimenting with being a woman of many looks with wigs, scarves, and fun hats.

What was/is your hair loss experience like for you guys?



Paula

[Rejoyce]

I never realized when I lost my hair almost two years ago, that I would never see it again! I keep waiting for it to grow back but now realize I have permanent hair loss from the Taxotere. I have the slightest of fuzz on my head, no eyebrows or eyelashes.

I do remember having my head shaved after the first chemo. I waited until it started to come out and rushed to the hairdresser. It was shocking to see what I looked like with no hair, but I soon found life was much easier with no hair to fix! I told my husband he had it made not having to worry about his hair. Getting dressed and ready for the day was a breeze!

Now that I am two years out from stage 3b, her2+++ breast cancer, I would love to have my hair back to fix! With no eyebrows and eyelashes I still look like a cancer patient.....

[Paula O]

Dear Rejoyce,


I feel for you in your loss of your hair these two years. While I was going through chemo , I heard about a couple ladies who, like you, also never got their hair back after Taxotere. I think that would be hard.

The loss of my left breast and 11 handy-dandy lymph nodes, the loss of hair and strength: I never really appreciated these gifts until they were gone. I wish it wasn't neccessary for us to do the things we've had to do and yet we traded those losses of parts of our bodies for something much better: more time alive, hopefully more fully alive than ever.

I wonder what other people's hair is like who have had hair re-growth after chemo. Mine is a completely different texture and color than it was before chemo. I am loaded with soft-like-a baby's curls now which I didn't have before and am enjoying for however long it lasts. I've heard that sometimes a couple haircuts and the chemo-permed curls are gone. Anybody else care to share their experience? Did the hair changes stay or were they transient? For those who went through chemo more than once, did it come back the same or different each time? Paula

[Pray]

A girl I grew up with had frizzy fly away hair. A few of our class mates used to kid her about her hair. I wish I had the courage to stick up for her so they would stop. I remember telling her oh what do they know anyway? While secretly thinking at least I don't have "Missy hair" Wouldn't you know it, that it would come back and bite me in the you know what and hard! After my first haircut (when hair was growing back) I thought yeah I can do this baby curl stuff. No such luck I look in the mirror every day and say to myself dang I have Missy hair! Missy has a great job, kids husband and oh yeah about her hair she certainly does not have Missy hair of old, (I proudly wear that title now only its Nancy hair) She uses a hair iron now and always looks smashing. Sometives its just amazing how what goes around comes around! She is a wonderful woman and I love her so.

[caya]

Paula, I had thick curly coarse hair before chemo. If I wanted to blow it dry straight, it would take me 45 minutes. I had to use a lot of anti-frizz serum and gel to control my hair, whether I wore it curly or straight. I had stared to go grey in my early 30's (like my mother), and had to go every 4 weeks for a root touch up before BC. I was diagnosed about 5 weeks after my 48th birthday, I am now 54.

After chemo, my hair grew back much straighter, fine, and less gray (I can go 6 weeks between colours now) - I never had the post chemo grey curls that most women get. A blow dry is now 12 - 15 minutes. I now have to use volumizing shampoo and conditioner, something I never would have dreamed about in my life before BC. I still have to remind myself to use only the teeniest amount of product on my hair, because of the texture change. I am thrilled with my new hair, I figure if anything good came out of my cancer treatment, this was it!

I know some women have permanent hair loss after Taxotere, one of the chemos I had. My onc. never mentioned this possibility - I wonder in Jan. 2007 when I started chemo if this was a known (albeit rare) side effect? I agree it would be hard to never have new hair growth, no matter what the colour/texture.

all the best
caya

[Nancy L]

I am one of the unlucky taxotere hair victims. It happened back in 2005 and For years i would ask various oncologists what happened. All they would say is "this is not suppose to happen". I thought for years that I was the only person this had happened to until I had my first appt with Dr. Slamon in 2009. He told me between 1 to 3% of those who get taxotere never get their hair back. I struggled with being bald until I found the hair system I wear today.

[Jackie07]

Guess I'm lucky that I've never cared much about how my hair looks.

When I was young, my sisters would help braid my hair every morning before school. Ever since college, I'd worn my hair long/straight.

When they shaved my hair for the brain (tumor) surgery in 1990, I didn't care much how it looked. My late Mother-in-law made me several scarves and I wore one of the over-a-dozen hats at work (Oldest Brother sent them from overseas when he went back home after taking care of me for two months.)

Nowadays I wear hats - usually a basball cap like many old man would wear - to keep it warm and to keep my hair in place (they are so thin and few now after two full doses of chemotherapy - also got the bald genes from my late Father and gray/white from my Mom) On formal ocassions, I'd wear the wig hubby purchased for me many years ago...