Chemotherapy hair loss

Hello
Unfortunately I dont believe there is any way to prevent it. Chemo kills all the fast growing cells in your body, which is the cells that grows your hair. I wish there was a way to prevent it because Id do anything to have my hair back. All I can say is once it starts falling out, just shave it and move on. I believe that thinking about losing your hair is worse than actually losing it...so be strong and take control girl. I wish you the best and stay strong!!
Sam

I can only say that I didn't
I can only say that I didn't opt to shave my hair completely. I surely can't go anywhere with the hair that is on my head, but I haven't lost all of it totally. I still have peach fuzz on top. When the first big clump fell out, I did go and have it buzzed extremely short (again, not presentable, but enough that I wouldn't be concerned with it falling out). I wear a wig, hats & scarves. I will be going for my 3rd treatment on Dec. 3rd and still have hair on my head. I'm wondering if I treat the hair that's there, perhaps it will continue to grow. Who knows! Just thought that shaving it all off was senseless as no one sees me without a covering.

It will happen but no matter what, it's only temporary. It's only hair! The most important thing is to fight the beast and WIN. Find a nice wig.... it really makes a difference.

ppurdin said:

hair loss.
Hi,I am sorry your going through this.i have been bald two months now.I did loss my hair 14 to 16 days after my first Chemo.I thought I could not ever get through this.But I have and I am dealing.And you will two.I thought about it all the time.Then when it came out in hand fulls it was so scary.I cryed again then I got mad that cancer was controlling me like this.So I took the good advice from women on this sight and shaved it myself.How powering it felt.I haven,t cryed anymore about it.I have a wig that I like real well.And i have some cute bandana scarfs.I can not say I don,t miss my hair I really do.But it is starting to grow back.Its temporary and you will be ok.Love and Prayers.(Pat).

Hair, there and everywhere....
cut it really short first off. then get some cute caps/hats. Your leftover hairs will hang down for quite a while. When you finally get used to it then go get a cute wig.
And YES you will get used to being hairless. I kept the few strings only because I figured they fought HARD to stay, so why punish them?hahaha My doctor says it's good to have a little cushion between my scalp and the wig, so that is their purpose right now. Good luck and hopefully you'll feel better when it actually happens. I was lucky that I lost the hair little by little, so it helped me adjust.

Kat11 said:

Hair loss a part of the cure
It's a bad part of the deal. Lost mine right after 2nd round of chemo. That was back in July. I shaved my head because I could not stand the clumps of hair that was coming out. A few weeks back I lost eye lashes and brows. I just finished chemo and can't wait for my hair to grow again. There is a good web site www.headcovers.com. They have scarfs that are really nice. I know how you feel, but there is no way to stop it. First you will cry, and then you will move forward, and we all will be here when you need to vent.

ice caps
Ice on your head during chemo can prevent hair loss. Not recommended usually, especially if there's any chance of cancer in your head, so to speak! I had really long nice hair, I donated it to Locks of Love after 2 weeks when it started coming out. Now I feel like a freak. AND it's growing! Day 19 for me. So, don't rush into anything, it might "hang" around longer than you think. I bought a cheap wig, and it just looks sad.
I was shopping today at the Gap, wearing a hat, (long walks in the mall cheer me up, it's too cold outside) and I saw a young girl who had shaved her head, I assume because she wanted it that way. WOW, I thought, maybe I should just hold my head up and act like I like it this way. Wish me luck with that!
you too,

no
you better check with your doc before trying anything, might make it worst

Lynda53 said:

Doubt stopping hair loss.

Doubt stopping hair loss.

It can be shocking when it comes out in clumps. As said I sggest cutting it short or shave it. Mine was short, I cut it shorter, but was far from ready when it came out in the shower. Way too tangible!
I wear a wig when I want, and various hats, mostly to keep my head warm. Many people do nto even notice, and I really do not care, my hair loss is far from my concern!
Best of luck and positive vibes to you! It will grow back.
Peace

Hair loss
It will fall out--maybe not all but a majority of it.
I started chemo 3/10 and my hair started falling out in clumps on 3/26 and I had my head shaved 3/27. I am one of those few that walked out of the barber shop with nothing on my head and only wore a hat when I dropped my son off at school and all the other times I walked around with nothing on my head--grocery shopping and at work.

My hair started coming back in the middle of June when I was still on chemo and I had my first hair cut about a month ago.

I wish you the best. Be strong.

Hugs,
Margo

redundant echo said:

Wear it proudly!
I will problably take some criticism for this, but I wore my head bald & proud. I was amazed how nice strangers were to me & offered to let me go ahead of them in lines, etc. OK, I admit I played the "Cancer Card" on occassion, but when a disease takes over every minute of your day, maybe letting a stranger feel lucky its not them, isn't so bad.

feeling lucky
Hah, Redundant Echo, you hit the nail on the head. I used to be one of those people who felt sorry for bald women (who knows what crap they might be going through?) and would let them 'cut' in line, all the while feeling grateful that I was not in their shoes.

When I tried to 'play the cancer card', here's what happened to me. My credit card bill was due 6/25. I was dxed 6/16, so things were crazy and I lost track of the due date. Paid it in full, online, on 6/26, one day late. They charged me $40 finance charge. I wrote them to ask them to please waive that fee, explained why, reminded them I have been a great customer for 4 years, always paying balance in full and never once late. Their response was to tell me, after reviewing it, that it was a 'valid' charge. I wrote back and said I was not questioning its 'validity' but was asking for a little human compassion, since cancer is scary, confusing, and expensive. Their next letter to me was to inform me that they were reducing my credit limit from $20,000 to $7,500!

Now that's compassion for you!!

crselby said:

feeling lucky
Hah, Redundant Echo, you hit the nail on the head. I used to be one of those people who felt sorry for bald women (who knows what crap they might be going through?) and would let them 'cut' in line, all the while feeling grateful that I was not in their shoes.

When I tried to 'play the cancer card', here's what happened to me. My credit card bill was due 6/25. I was dxed 6/16, so things were crazy and I lost track of the due date. Paid it in full, online, on 6/26, one day late. They charged me $40 finance charge. I wrote them to ask them to please waive that fee, explained why, reminded them I have been a great customer for 4 years, always paying balance in full and never once late. Their response was to tell me, after reviewing it, that it was a 'valid' charge. I wrote back and said I was not questioning its 'validity' but was asking for a little human compassion, since cancer is scary, confusing, and expensive. Their next letter to me was to inform me that they were reducing my credit limit from $20,000 to $7,500!

Now that's compassion for you!!

Business as usual
Yes Crselby, working with a business or God forbid, an insurance company--no compassion. People have to see the illnesss to feel any empathy.
I always remember one lady looking me in the eye at the store & asking me "how are you feeling today?" I was so choked up over this small gesture & was sure she must have been thru some sort of illness with herself or loved one.

crselby said:

small gestures
Not having gone thru chemo, I would not have been sure if a response like that ("How are you feeling today?") from a stranger would be well received. Now I won't be afraid to ask!

I am not bold enough to go
I am not bold enough to go bald even at home. but i am suprised how quickly I adapted to the scarves, I though Iwould wear my wig all the time, but i dont. I did buzz it off early. Idid nto want the hair falling out in clumps experience. I dont regret it. I still have spike like hair on my head, it doesnt hurt so I did not shave it. I am suprised Idid not cry but I did it on my own terms, I cant say i like it though, but I dont like any of this. It helps thatmy family doesnt make a big deal of it. Now I think the eye lashes are starting and thast will bother me as my eyes are so sensative and i am afraid of getting things in them. Actually just checked eyelashes pretty sparse.

TraciInLA said:

No criticism, but every woman feels differently
Redundant Echo, I also wore my bald head proudly. I only wore a hat or headwrap when I was outside, to protect my pale little scalp (I did chemo in the summer). I'm very low-maintenance about my appearance anyway, and honestly, with all the side effects from chemo that I was struggling through every day, I felt that hair or no hair was the LEAST of my concerns!

I wish I could tell lwoodley and every woman going through this to just be out and proud about being bald, and to not ever feel ashamed or self-conscious, but every woman feels differently, and we all have to feel what we feel and do whatever is right for each of us to make chemo a little bit easier.

(But hey, after reading Laurissa's thread about wearing a wig while baking -- maybe you and I made the SAFER choice! :-)

Traci

Yes I wanted to add that I
Yes I wanted to add that I admire you greatly for going bald, but its not my comfort zone. but then again i'm not that comfortable at the beach in a bathing suit. LOL