Rate of hair growth after Taxotere and Cytoxan

reeseslover1234
reeseslover1234 Member Posts: 87
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Hello beautiful people,

Can anybody tell me how quickly your hair grew back after these two drugs? I'm 9 months out from chemo and my hair looks like I have male pattern baldness. I'm okay if it doesn't come back any thicker, but I would at least like to know. I've read about Taxotere's permanent hair loss and I'm thinking this might be me. My eyebrows and eyelashes are also very sparse, but I do see some growth there. I hardly have to shave my underarms or my bikini line because it's not growing back there much either. This is very different for me as I am a brunette and had hair everywhere (if you get my drift). If anybody has any advice or a similar story, let me know, please. Thanks for listening and have a blessed day. Reese

Comments

  • pattimc
    pattimc Member Posts: 431
    #2
    Hi Reese I had Taxotere and Cytoxan too
    As everyone on here will say "everyone is different." My experience is I am 10 months out of chemo and I have a good amount of hair. It came in salt and pepper (I'm a brunette)very thick and curly. I have colored it several times and am getting it cut again on Saturday.

    My eyebrows and eyelashes fell out after my chemo was done. They grew back in, then I promptly lost them again! They grew back, but then this summer I started to lose them again! They are growing back but that part is sure frustrating! Why can't the hair on my legs and other regions stay gone!!

    Anyway, I hope your hair grows faster for you. Others on here have used certain shampoos and stuff so I'm sure someone will be able to give you some suggestions.

    Best of luck, Reese.

    Patti
  • teresa41
    teresa41 Member Posts: 471
    #3
    hi reese
    i finished chemo september 17,2009 same cocktail as you and my hair came back frizzy, curly and it is not growing fast at all i had a trim in may 2010 just to even it out. it is a lot different now and i really dont like it at all but its hair i guess . i never lost my lashes or brows and im back to shaving . everyone is different hang in there it might just take a little longer wishing you the best.


    teresa
  • sweetvickid
    sweetvickid Member Posts: 459 Member
    #4
    teresa41 said:

    hi reese
    i finished chemo september 17,2009 same cocktail as you and my hair came back frizzy, curly and it is not growing fast at all i had a trim in may 2010 just to even it out. it is a lot different now and i really dont like it at all but its hair i guess . i never lost my lashes or brows and im back to shaving . everyone is different hang in there it might just take a little longer wishing you the best.


    teresa

    Lost it all
    But then it immediately started growing back. While on chemo 8 rounds it was just stubble but now that i am done and 4 months out it is really getting thick. The stubble was all white but now a lot of dark hair has come in so I think I am going to have really pretty salt and pepper. I had colored it for so many years with hi lights and low lights didn't know what my original color would be! I like it and plan on keeping it.
  • Pinkpower
    Pinkpower Member Posts: 437
    #5
    I was on taxotere and
    I was on taxotere and carboplatin & Herceptin. Finished taxotere and carbo in March and as you can see by my pic I got some hair, but it is growing very slow. Not much has changed in the last month. Maybe Im being impatient, my husband tells me at least I have hair, but I still wish it would grow faster. I too notice my eyebrows had started to come in and now they are thining out again. Why cant the hair on my legs thin out too, lol. I sure wouldnt mind not having to shave my legs all the time.
  • VickiSam
    VickiSam Member Posts: 9,079 Member
    #6
    Pinkpower said:

    I was on taxotere and
    I was on taxotere and carboplatin & Herceptin. Finished taxotere and carbo in March and as you can see by my pic I got some hair, but it is growing very slow. Not much has changed in the last month. Maybe Im being impatient, my husband tells me at least I have hair, but I still wish it would grow faster. I too notice my eyebrows had started to come in and now they are thining out again. Why cant the hair on my legs thin out too, lol. I sure wouldnt mind not having to shave my legs all the time.

    I'm with resolver .. I have the same experience, and
    believe me -- it's not pretty. What happened??? Why so dense, and thin ---

    Confused and angry ...


    Vicki
  • MAJW
    MAJW Member Posts: 2,510 Member
    #7
    Same chemo cocktail......
    But my experience has been different.....I am one year out from chemo....my hair came back in salt and pepper also.....never had that before, my hair was very dark.......and is once again,thanks to coloring it..... and it is now a good 5 " long.....I have NOT had it trimmed or cut....just can't bring myself to let anyone near it with sissors! And I ALWAYS wore it very short..... It is curly.....not just curly, KINKY curly! Actually I am enjoying the curls..no styling, even if I wanted to, just wash and wear! My eyelashes came back......they were quite normal looking but now they seem sparse, a year later! The rest of my body hair came back with a vengence! back to the old shaving routine.... We're all different,some things take longer than others with each of us...... I have never read that Taxotere could cause permanent hair loss, though...have you asked your oncologist about this? Easier said than done, but try to be patient.....

    Hugs,
    Nancy
  • lillith
    lillith Member Posts: 29
    #8
    follicles
    My last T/C treatment was May 12, and now my hair is 1/2 inch long and looks like the old Caesar cuts. Very slow growing! But it seems to be the same length all around and no bald spots. Right after i finished, i went to an excellent stylist who clipped everything evenly to about 1/16 inch.

    You might try seeing a Dermatologist as they are the type of doctor that deals with hair issues (hair follicles are deep in the skin).

    Hope that is not true about Taxotere and permanent hair loss, i never heard that either.
  • pinkkari09
    pinkkari09 Member Posts: 877
    #9
    Don't get discouraged with
    Don't get discouraged with the bald spots, they fill in. I had 'em too and it freaked me out, then they filled in. I had 4 A/C and 11 taxol and they ended in January 2010 and my hair is pretty thick, curly, and growing nicely. Best of luck
    Kari
  • jo jo
    jo jo Member Posts: 1,175
    #10
    I was on the same
    I was on the same cocktail.
    I finished chemo at the end of April and i just went topless a few days ago. My hair came in dark with a little gray on my side (which wasnt there before) and thick and straight as an arrow. As far as body hair its slow growin but its growin...i dont have to shave my underarms and legs as often but i do have to shave them.
    Sorry yours is taking its time cuz we all cant wait till that moment when our hair grows back in...watching it everyday and measuring it....kinda like a watched pot never boils.
  • annieoo
    annieoo Member Posts: 3
    #11
    year after taxotere

    I have very thin hair and male pattern baldness and it has been one year. I am so sick of it as I cant stand to wear a wig. I was never told about this side effect but I would have taken the treatment anyway.Just glad to be alive! Finger and toe nails came back and eyelashes. Still no eyebrows. It has been one year since my last treatment.

  • Patti1967
    Patti1967 Member Posts: 186
    #12
    annieoo said:

    year after taxotere

    I have very thin hair and male pattern baldness and it has been one year. I am so sick of it as I cant stand to wear a wig. I was never told about this side effect but I would have taken the treatment anyway.Just glad to be alive! Finger and toe nails came back and eyelashes. Still no eyebrows. It has been one year since my last treatment.

    I had the same combo and I

    I had the same combo and I will be four months out on the 10th.  I lost all hair from head to toe.  My body  hair started coming back in about four weeks, my eyelashes and brows in about eight and are almost fully back.  My hair which was thick and midway down my back before, started coming back slowly at about four weeks out and is now about an inch/inch and a half now.  The front isnt coming in as thick as tbe back ts its coming back:)

    Patti

  • Double Whammy
    Double Whammy Member Posts: 2,832 Member
    #13
    Patti1967 said:

    I had the same combo and I

    I had the same combo and I will be four months out on the 10th.  I lost all hair from head to toe.  My body  hair started coming back in about four weeks, my eyelashes and brows in about eight and are almost fully back.  My hair which was thick and midway down my back before, started coming back slowly at about four weeks out and is now about an inch/inch and a half now.  The front isnt coming in as thick as tbe back ts its coming back:)

    Patti

    2 1/2 years for me

    Since I finished Taxotere and Cytoxin.  I've posted my outcome many times, but I'll post it again. Onc said it just couldn't be the chemo. It's VERY rare. My primary care said chemo probably killed (dead) some of the hair stem cells instead of just stunning them.  Been to the Dermatologist, had a biopsy, had lots of tests for thyroid, autoimmune disorders, and iron deficiency,used Rogaine religiously for 6 months,and tried a number of OTC products.  Bottom line is almost 3 years ago I started Taxotere and Cytoxin, all of my hair fell out, and only some of it returned.  I don't wish this on anyone.  Recently switched from Arimidex to Tamoxifen to see if Arimidex was contributing.  Nothing yet. I keep my hair short, I've colored it because it shows up more and when I wear a hat, I do look like I have hair.  But I don't.  I wear a wig most of the time in public and the wigs I have are cute. But I still don't have enough hair to cover my head.  I hope this isn't happening to you. 

    Suzanne

  • Double Whammy
    Double Whammy Member Posts: 2,832 Member
    #14
    Double Whammy said:

    2 1/2 years for me

    Since I finished Taxotere and Cytoxin.  I've posted my outcome many times, but I'll post it again. Onc said it just couldn't be the chemo. It's VERY rare. My primary care said chemo probably killed (dead) some of the hair stem cells instead of just stunning them.  Been to the Dermatologist, had a biopsy, had lots of tests for thyroid, autoimmune disorders, and iron deficiency,used Rogaine religiously for 6 months,and tried a number of OTC products.  Bottom line is almost 3 years ago I started Taxotere and Cytoxin, all of my hair fell out, and only some of it returned.  I don't wish this on anyone.  Recently switched from Arimidex to Tamoxifen to see if Arimidex was contributing.  Nothing yet. I keep my hair short, I've colored it because it shows up more and when I wear a hat, I do look like I have hair.  But I don't.  I wear a wig most of the time in public and the wigs I have are cute. But I still don't have enough hair to cover my head.  I hope this isn't happening to you. 

    Suzanne

    About the eyelashes and eyebrows

    Puny.  Puny.  I have maybe 4 eyebrows and my lashes are sparse and very short.   I got permanent makeup (tattoos) - both liner and eyebrows - and really don't know why I didn't do that years ago (I'm pretty fair).   That was money well spent.   I recently got eyelash extensions.  They require maintenance but they look really good and natural, probably because I don't have that many natural lashes to glue them to.    I would not be doing all these vanity related things at my age if I didn't feel like a freak otherwise (the lashes I could go without).  It's sort of embarrassing and I don't tell some of my friends because I know I'd get a ration of you know what, but I'll tell you gals, just in case you need to cosmetically enhance what cancer has taken. 

    S

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