HonCode

Go Back   HER2 Support Group Forums > her2group
Register Gallery FAQ Members List Calendar Today's Posts

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 02-26-2007, 07:51 AM   #1
SusanV
Senior Member
 
SusanV's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: PA
Posts: 188
Hair

Hey Guys.... It has been almost 4 months since my last A/C (November 6th) and today I decided was the day to toss the wig and go for it with my new hair. I am at work right now, and everyone was very supportive. My hair is very short, but with some gel and a dose of courage I think it's going to be fine !


Just wanted to share my little milestone with you guys.

LOVE TO ALL
__________________
Susan V - Pittsburgh PA
DX Age 37 on August 3, 2006
Stage 1 Grade 3
ER/PR + (Highly Positive)
Her 2 +++
1.3 & 1.2 tumors right breast
node negative
lumpectomy 8-15-06
A/C Began 9-5-06 Finished A/C 11/6/06
Port Placement 9-15-06
Negative Test for BRAC1 & BRAC2 10-25-06
Began Tamoxofin November 21, 2006
First Herceptin November 27, 2006 Continues every 3 Weeks
First Radiation Treatment December 11, 2006
35 Rads Completed
Final Herceptin Treatment November 12, 2007
Port Removal November 19, 2007
Living Life to the Fullest !!
SusanV is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2007, 11:44 AM   #2
Andi
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: IOWA
Posts: 243
Good for you! I remember the first time I went without my wig, I was complemented on my "new haricut" by a minister in a church that we were attending on vacation. That gave me so much confidence after that, I never even considered wearing my wig again. I hope you get the same kind of positive comments to help build your self confidence!
__________________
Andi
-- ------------------------
Stage IIIC, 17 of 20 Nodes +, E+, Her2+++
Diagnosed 6/30/05
Lumpectomy 7/13/05
Dose Dense A/C x 4
Weekly Taxol + Herceptin x 12
Remainder of year Herceptin Every 3 weeks (completes 9/13/06)
Radiation completed 2/28/06
Currently on Tamoxifen
Dec 06 - Pleural effusion treated with pleurodesis
Now er/pr-, her2++
1/07 started weekly Navelbine plus Herceptin
Discontinued Tamoxifen
4/27/07 CTshowed progression
5/01/07 Began Tykerb/Xeloda + Zometa
5/22/07 Stopped treatment due to great progression
Andi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2007, 12:10 PM   #3
KellyA
Senior Member
 
KellyA's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Savannah, Georgia
Posts: 301
Hi Susan!

Congratulations on your hair! It felt funny for me at first, but quickly made me feel like I was getting back to my old self. I have gotten so many compliments on it short that I might just keep it that way! I also still have to use gel, but was able to get little highlights in it recently and was so excited to have a "style". You will be surprised at how quickly it does come in.

Love, Kelly

P.S.- I was also so excited to use shampoo instead of a bar of soap!!!!!
__________________
dx'd 05/06, 37 years old
er/pr-, Her2+, grade 3
double mastectomy, immediate reconstruction- implants
Stage 2b, 2 tumors- 2.2 cm and 0.6 cm, 3/5 + nodes
all scans clear
genetic testing- negative
06/06 began dd A/C x 4, 12 weekly Taxols w/ Herceptin
30 rads
Herceptin weekly x 1 year
Herceptin completed 08/07
Port removed 12/26/07 MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!
05/17/08 Two year anniversary NED

"We gain strength, courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... you must do the thing that you think you cannot do."

-Eleanor Roosevelt

KellyA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2007, 12:32 PM   #4
Mary Jo
Senior Member
 
Mary Jo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Sheboygan, WI
Posts: 2,582
I, too, remember the day well. I remember sitting outside of work in my car saying to myself "you can do this." I did have on my pink Green Bay Packer hat though (baseball type) but like you all, received much support at work and once I did it I was fine with it. It was so liberating to lose that dang wig.


Mary Jo
__________________
"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10

Dx. 6/24/05 age 45 Right Breast IDC
ER/PR. Neg., - Her2+++
RB Mast. - 7/28/05 - 4 cm. tumor
Margins clear - 1 microscopic cell 1 sent. node
No Vasucular Invasion
4 DD A/C - 4 DD Taxol & Herceptin
1 full year of Herceptin received every 3 weeks
28 rads
prophylactic Mast. 3/2/06

17 Years NED

<>< Romans 8:28
Mary Jo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2007, 01:15 PM   #5
caya
Senior Member
 
caya's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Thornhill, Ontario Canada
Posts: 2,320
Hi Susan,

Good for you - I have just had my second chemo so I am in Wig mode - did your hair grow in differently - my onc. told me it will be thicker and curlier - My original hair was very thick and curly - I wonder what will happen - also is the colour the same?

Thanks for sharing
Caya
caya is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2007, 08:04 PM   #6
rinaina
Senior Member
 
rinaina's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: northshore suburb of chicago
Posts: 1,093
Images: 2
I lost the wigs about 2 weeks ago. I am not crazy about the real tight curls and even gel doesn't help. In fact I haven't found a product that does and I have tried them all. I already had one haircut but it didn't do much for it. The curls are too tight to do anything with them. To make matters worse, when they tried to color it, my hair wouldn't take up the color so it is a mousy grey brown. I don't mean to sound like I am complaining because I really am glad to have hair again, but I will be happier when these curls relax a bit. I never had curly hair before and I really loved my hair prior to losing it. Sure hope it returns someday as it was because these tight curls are not very attractive to say the least.
__________________
~Rina~
Dx:3/06 had a lumpectomy April 19, 2006
Her2+ er/pr- Stage I Grade 3 tumor size 1.4 cm, node negative
AC 4 dense doses
34 radiation treatments including booster doses
receiving herceptin every 3 weeks since late August 2006 for 12 months
rinaina is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2007, 08:20 PM   #7
Andi
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: IOWA
Posts: 243
When I was taking chemo the first time, my chemo nurses told me of a little boy that they had that took chemo 4 different times and each time his hair returned in a different color! Mine came back with a lot more body and curls. I was always a natural blond, my hair is now quite dark. Several people I know had theirs come back kind of salt and pepper, but surprisingly, I didn't have any grey in mine. I have worn my hair short ever since it came back in. I really got to liking the ease of care and people kept saying they liked me in short hair.
__________________
Andi
-- ------------------------
Stage IIIC, 17 of 20 Nodes +, E+, Her2+++
Diagnosed 6/30/05
Lumpectomy 7/13/05
Dose Dense A/C x 4
Weekly Taxol + Herceptin x 12
Remainder of year Herceptin Every 3 weeks (completes 9/13/06)
Radiation completed 2/28/06
Currently on Tamoxifen
Dec 06 - Pleural effusion treated with pleurodesis
Now er/pr-, her2++
1/07 started weekly Navelbine plus Herceptin
Discontinued Tamoxifen
4/27/07 CTshowed progression
5/01/07 Began Tykerb/Xeloda + Zometa
5/22/07 Stopped treatment due to great progression
Andi is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-26-2007, 10:57 PM   #8
Adriana Mangus
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: California
Posts: 668
How exciting!

I was diagnosed at age 38, my daughter was only 7, she's now 20 and in College (of course). Even though the cancer came back three years ago-it will be four years July 16, am grateful to be here thanks to God and Herceptin.

I remember when my hair came back, I attended the Office Christmas Party, and took a lot of pictures, you can always go back and say: Oh My God! iS IT REALLY ME! It's a lot of fun to have pictures taken throughout your growing hairs!! Glad to hear you're doing great.

P.S. I even had Glamour Pictures taken along with my daughter, love them!
__________________
1994 - rt brst, .lump, underarm node dissection,chemo+rad 1.2 cms, Grade 3.
28 nodes neg
Er,Pr, Positive HER2 status unknown
2003- Recur to rt lung.July 16 ( B-Day!)
Her2+++ Er,Pr, Negative
2003 - Aug04--Navelbine + Herceptin
2004- 2007--
NED - Herceptin, only
2007 Feb-April Xeloda added to hereceptin
2007-May Back on Navelbine+Herceptin
2008-Feb-Mar 15 Ses Rad to Rt. Lung
2008- Oc 17 Add Tykerb to Herceptin
2009- June-- Discont Tykerb
2009 July 7--Current Taxol + Herceptin
2009 Dec--Discontinued treatment due to progression. Looking into cyberknife.
2010-Aug Accepted to TDM1, no SE, except liver count went up.
2010-2011 September got kicked out of the trial, due to a small spot found on lung.
2011- 2012 September thru early 2013 on Herceptin
2013- March Bone density shows small spot on 5th rib.
2013 - April 4th appt with onc. will post after discussing course of treatment.
2013-March-April Cyber knife to brain and radiation to rib. Chest --base line before chemo-CT-Scan stable for lung issue. CA2729 Normal.
2013 April Herceptin- TDMI
2013 Sept Herceptin + Perjeta . CA2729 within normal range. Brain and Pet scans October 31st. will post results.
2013 October Brain MRI- mixed response. Will see Onc/rad on Halloween.
2013 October/November Brain-MRI nothing new. Repeat MRI next year in May.

2013 December Continue Herceptin and Perjeta. Stable at the moment.
2014 February Brain MRI -clear!
2014 January Added Taxotere to Perjeta+Herceptin.
2014 March Stopped chemo-chest ct-scan next.

2014- March Scans shows tumor's larger, CA2729 higher. Discontinue Herceptin.
2014 April Perjeta+ Halaven
2014 April CA2729 went down 60 points after one cycle. Cough does not want to go away.
2014 June Continue on Perjeta + Halaven-- no more cough. Stable
2014 June Back on Herceptin + abraxane
Adriana Mangus is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-27-2007, 07:34 AM   #9
SusanV
Senior Member
 
SusanV's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: PA
Posts: 188
Thanks for all the responses....I am here at work today smiling as I read each and every one. It is sooo great to have people who REALLY understand just what you are going through. I love having all of you to "talk" to

Funny...my hair is very short, straight like before and very dark. I had heard all the stories about getting curly hair after chemo, and I was sort of hoping for that for a funny reason. My 6 year old daughter has the most beautiful long curly hair (Not sure where she got it from ! ) Anyway, naturally she hates it, and wants straight hair. I was hoping to get some curly hair to be like her for a while so that we could both have curly hair ! No luck though......straight hair for me !!

Love to all of you
__________________
Susan V - Pittsburgh PA
DX Age 37 on August 3, 2006
Stage 1 Grade 3
ER/PR + (Highly Positive)
Her 2 +++
1.3 & 1.2 tumors right breast
node negative
lumpectomy 8-15-06
A/C Began 9-5-06 Finished A/C 11/6/06
Port Placement 9-15-06
Negative Test for BRAC1 & BRAC2 10-25-06
Began Tamoxofin November 21, 2006
First Herceptin November 27, 2006 Continues every 3 Weeks
First Radiation Treatment December 11, 2006
35 Rads Completed
Final Herceptin Treatment November 12, 2007
Port Removal November 19, 2007
Living Life to the Fullest !!
SusanV is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 02-27-2007, 12:32 PM   #10
rinaina
Senior Member
 
rinaina's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: northshore suburb of chicago
Posts: 1,093
Images: 2
you are the first person i heard of whose hair grew back curly. i thought everyone grew back curly. well, i guess we are never happy with the type of hair we have and we just need to learn to be happy we have hair at all! i keep telling myself that but there are days where these tight curls drive me crazy. i also came back very dark and grey. triple yucko as far as i am concerned. the color didn't take the first time so i am hoping the next time to have better success with that. you could always get a perm to look more like your daughter's hair.
__________________
~Rina~
Dx:3/06 had a lumpectomy April 19, 2006
Her2+ er/pr- Stage I Grade 3 tumor size 1.4 cm, node negative
AC 4 dense doses
34 radiation treatments including booster doses
receiving herceptin every 3 weeks since late August 2006 for 12 months
rinaina is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2007, 05:42 PM   #11
juanita
Senior Member
 
juanita's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: indianapolis, indiana
Posts: 1,544
At first my hair was curly, but now it's back to normal. It's also darker with more grey streaks than before.
juanita is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-01-2007, 11:52 PM   #12
MGordon
Senior Member
 
MGordon's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Colorado
Posts: 131
Just gotta share...

Lisa lost her hair 3x (2 due to chemo and 1 due to WBR) and I know that hair/wig is a very personal decision - but Lisa decided she didn't like wigs and bald she was (her words) "A walking Pink Ribbon". It was amazing the number of people that would stop and chat - sometimes long chats while trying to run short errands! But every minute was worth it. Kids are priceless - they have not been too desensitized yet! I remember once a ~3-4 year old girl was staring at Lisa in the grocery store. Lisa got down on one knee and talked to her - as we walked off we heard her say "Dad - I think she's a girl..."

The funny part was when her hair grew back! Bald, everyone recognized her as a cancer fighter, but when her hair was growing back - the looks she got - they all thought she some some kind og GOTH person!

Anyway - congrats with the hair rebound, and although we've never met - I want to tell you YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL!

Love and Light
Mel
__________________
Mel Gordon, Husband of Lisa Lowe - Queen of Love and Light and the bravest person I know!
MGordon is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 06:49 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright HER2 Support Group 2007 - 2021
free webpage hit counter