Herceptin & Hair Loss

flynny · 02-01-2009, 08:40 PM

A little background (signature below). So I finished Taxol September 8th and then almost exactly one month later my eye lashes fell out. I was told this would happen by a few people so I wasn't surprised when it happened. But NOW I have noticed my eye lashes falling out here and there lately. At first I just thought it was because I was rubbing my eye too hard, but now when I have put my mascara on they don't seem to be as full and they are starting to look more sparse. This is a little bothersome to me.

Has anyone else experienced this?? Thank you.

Gerri · 02-01-2009, 09:06 PM

Hi Sarah,

I lost my eyelashes once to chemo and then twice while on Herceptin only. I hated having bald eyes!! I still wore eye shadow and eyeliner, which seemed to make it less noticeable. My eyelashes are back, but not as thick as they once were.

karen raines hunt · 02-01-2009, 09:24 PM

After Taxol, my eyelashes came back, then fell out again while I was still on Herceptin. It was discouraging, but they are back now and as full as before the chemo.
Karen

harrie · 02-01-2009, 10:26 PM

Revitalash really helped grow my eyelashes back. They came out right at the end of chemo and grew back fairly quickly. I assumed it was from the chemo and not the herceptin.

vickie h · 02-01-2009, 11:12 PM

Harrie is right! Revitalash is said to actually help most chemo patients keep their eyelashes. My Onc in Santa Barbara even sells it and says most all of her patients using it have all their eyelashes. I am getting some on Wed., as I haven't had eyelashes since last summer, and hardly any eyebrows. It's expensive (around 130.00) but oh so worth it. I don't know why i waited so long ($$$). Love, Vickie

harrie · 02-01-2009, 11:38 PM

Vickie, I know it seems very expensive, but you use such a tiny bit each time...I swear...it really lasts a LONG time!!
I have never been one to have nice lashes normally, but after Revitalash, my lashes are even better then what it was before chemo.
Amazing, yea?

vickie h · 02-01-2009, 11:57 PM

Thanks, Harrie, I had forgotten about Revitalash until I saw your post! My daughter, an aesthetician, also swears by it and says nothing on the market can touch it. I'm excited...and she can get it wholesale with her license. We should spread the word on this...it's bad enough to lose our hair, but lashes and brows, ugh. I've been taking Dr Rath's Epican Forte and my hair has been growing back through Abraxane tx and now, Ixempra. And it's growing fast. Now to get those lashes going.... Love, Vickie

Mary Anne in TX · 02-02-2009, 04:28 AM

Now we're getting to the really important stuff. I've hated not having good lashes. The very ends of my eyebrows didn't come back either. Weird. At last, help is on the way. thanks everyone! ma

dhealey · 02-02-2009, 05:40 AM

my eyelashes fell out 3 times after finishing Taxol. They are back to their normal self now. But my eyebrows never grew back to normal.

Laurel · 02-02-2009, 12:56 PM

Do you have to purchase revitalash through a beauty supply? My lashes have come back post taxol, but they are much shorter. I confess I was rather vane (apparently) about my long, lush lashes, so I am miffed that I have short lashes! Ah, "vanity thy name is woman."

Mary Anne in TX · 02-02-2009, 01:29 PM

It's 57% off on amazon.

StephN · 02-02-2009, 02:13 PM

Thanks! MA - going to Amazon NOW - as I have a small credit there from a gift certificate.

I am curious to see if taking a 3 month Herceptin Holiday will have any affect on my sparsh lashes - or if the damage has been done from years of taking it.

Revitalash - here I come!

P.S. My other hair has been pretty much back to normal, except underarm, which was fine and light to begin with.

Terri B · 02-02-2009, 02:39 PM

Me too.

Currently doing Herceptin until June, finished chemo in November. Hair on head is growing back, but lashes and brows are wimpy. It takes me a long time to apply mascara now!

StephN · 02-02-2009, 04:08 PM

Just ordered the RevitaLash from Amazon. Beware - it is very confusing as they have lots of sellars with many prices. I paid a little more to go with a sellar with thousands of feedback and many good reviews. Just felt more comfortable as there are SO MANY counterfeit products out there now. And they did not have misspellings in their listings ...

I had to give up on mascara years ago - just do the liner and shadow thing.
I could use mascara, but it seems to bother my eyes and I would rather spend my cosmetics dollars on skin and hair care and good foundation.

P.S. I also found products for wimpy brows at Amazon, but did not order any. Anyone try those??

flynny · 02-02-2009, 04:13 PM

Thanks everyone for all the information. I had my Herceptin tx today and I just had to ask my nurse if she had anyone complain of this same problem. She said that some of her other patients have complained about it too. It's just so weird to have them come back after the Taxol (well have them and then loose them) and then while on Herceptin alone they seem to be coming out and now be sparse. Oh well, I'm off to purchase Revitalash. I'll try anything right now. I do miss having some lush eyelashes. The good thing is my hair is growing back fast and furiously!! Cheers

Laurel · 02-02-2009, 05:58 PM

This is a great thread! Really informative. Please tell me, anyone, if your lashes took some time to grow back to their pre-chemo length? In other works, am I being impatient and contemplating making an expensive purchase that may be unnecessary? Right now I am watching my shekels, but if there is a danger of my loosing my lashes again, I'll forkout the dough in a heartbeat! I despised the E.T. look of no lashes/brows. Really did not do a thing for me!

Sarah (flynny)what is it you are using on your hair and where can that be purchased? Would you mind checking to see if it contains any estrogen mimicking ingredients like parabens, tea tree, lavender, and another that I cannot remember at the moment! Anyone, estrogen mimicking substances?

flynny · 02-02-2009, 06:42 PM

Laurel,

I'm not using anything specific. Actually, I just take my vitamins (supplements) and maybe that has helped me. Also, I have some good genes (somewhat). Hair could be one of them.

Just curious were you highly ER/PR +?
I haven't read a whole lot about the estrogen mimicking substances, can you tell me more?

WomanofSteel · 02-03-2009, 08:34 AM

I have been on herceptin taxol for every 2 weeks since the beginning of June. I lost a lot of my hair , so I shaved it. I also lost most of my brows and lashes and some hair down under. I went off for a month while having scans done and everything seemed to come back. When I went back on, I noticed my hair coming out again, but not as badly. I now have a short crewcut with a receding hairline on the sides in the front, which is lots warmer this winter. I also am starting to lose my lashes and eyebrows again. I don't wear makeup and I am not a girlie girl, so I am having a bit of a dilemma of what to do since my nephew is getting married at the end of June. Between the weight gain and hair loss I am cranky about my appearance, but haven't come up with an answer to my problem. I will prob wear a pantsuit to the wedding, something dressy, and am debating on just being myself and staying out of pics. Maybe you gals have some advice.

Mary Anne in TX · 02-03-2009, 12:00 PM

A really simple way to "have some eyebrows" is to take 2 eyebrow pencils (1 blonde and one lite brown) and feather in some brows. You make short little strokes with one color and then the other. It takes a few tries; so maybe practice in the evening and "wash them off" before bed. Before you know it, you'll find having eyebrows quick and easy for those special occasions. ma

flynny · 02-03-2009, 07:51 PM

I must say that Origins has an unbelievable brow pencil with a brush at the other end. They even showed me some pointers about how to feather them nicely. The blond is very nice and then like MA said add a bit of a darker brown to off set it.

Woman of Steel, a dressy pant suit sounds very nice. I know you say you are not a "girlie girl", but adding a nice pair of earrings and something on your neck will enhance your look. As far as the receding hair line issue. There is a product by Bumble and Bumble that you could try. It is used for a quick fix for when you need to highlight your hair, but you don't have enough time. Check them out on-line.