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Old 05-02-2011, 08:13 AM   #2
NanaJoni
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Join Date: May 2010
Location: Elizabethton, TN
Posts: 418
Re: Hair growth after herceptin

I finished chemo late last summer - it took at least 4 months for me to go without wig or hat and about 6 months to feel really comfortable. I now have thicker and better hair than before chemo. The herceptin didn't seem to affect hair growth (I did lose my eyelashes 3 times after stopping chemo) but it did affect my nails. Made them very thin and they peeled. I found a great manicurist who had a certificate in "Clients with Cancer" and after getting permission from my onc, went to her faithfully every two weeks and she kept my nails in very good condition. The watery eyes is a problem with herceptin, too - but worse for me was the runny nose. My onc nurses told me to take Zyrtec daily and it helped some but I still carry soft napkins with me because tissues just don't get it. I'm off herceptin now for about 2 months and still having the runny nose. None of this is easy but you won't regret it.
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Joni -64 yrs old -
3/01/10: found lump in rt.breast
3/12/10: mammogram/ultrasnd/biopsy-invasive bc & DCIS; 2 tumors (2cm er-/pr-/HER2-& 1.8 cm er-/pr-/HER2+); grade 3;poorly differentiated
3/24/10:sent.node biopsy clear
3/31/10:bi-lateral mx.;atypical ductal hyperplasia-lft side
4/21/10:wound revision-infection/scarring 4/28/10:seromas both sides
5/21/10:port installed,TCH chemo (6 x 3 wks); Herc,-1yr; 33 rad tx after chemo
07/2010: port not working-2nd port didnt'work;3rd port opposite side.
07/2010: 2 weeks after 3rd port surgery, threw 3 pulm. emboli-IVC filter installed; warfarin
08/2010: hospitalizations w/3 of chemos; decision to stop after 4th-on to radiation in Oct 2010;Herc cont.
12/03/2010 - finished 33 rads Hooray!! cont. Herc. every 3 wks
4/2011 - pneumonia ??? Nope-radiation pneumonitis. No more Herc.
5/2011 - NED!!! port out.
8/2011 - clean PET & CT scans.Still NED
7/2012 - Still NED/very blessed.
2/2013 - 6 mos checkup-all clear. CA2729 down frm 13 to 11.
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