Hair loss after chemo and radiation

don09
don09 Member Posts: 108
edited March 2014 in Lung Cancer #1
Hi has any one else had hair loss two or three months after chemo& Radiation.Thanks for all the support Don & Kathy we go for more chemo and radiation on the 16th

Comments

  • tessyc
    tessyc Member Posts: 9
    #2
    Yes and No
    My mom had hair loss after her whole brain radiation but not after her chemo. It may be the radiation that is causing the Hair loss. Hope this helps

    Tessy
  • kelli1843
    kelli1843 Member Posts: 72
    #3
    tessyc said:

    Yes and No
    My mom had hair loss after her whole brain radiation but not after her chemo. It may be the radiation that is causing the Hair loss. Hope this helps

    Tessy

    Yes, had hair loss about 2-3
    Yes, had hair loss about 2-3 weeks after first chemo. By end of a month, complete hair loss.
  • stayingcalm
    stayingcalm Member Posts: 650 Member
    #4
    Hair today, gone tomorrow
    It's more common for hair to start coming out about two weeks into chemo than 2 - 3 months after, but everyone is a little different. My advice would be to just shave your head if it really seems to be coming out a lot, and if you've ever wished for wavy/curly hair, be prepared to get it as it grows back in - my straight-as-a-board hair came back with a nice wave :) Unfortunately, I lost it again with WBR, and now it's just sort of weird - Tarceva does that.
  • marijune
    marijune Member Posts: 45
    #5
    Not all hair was lost
    I had my head shaved but not all of my hair came out.I had 4 rounds of chemo so far. There is a thin fuzz around the head. does this mean the chemo isnt working on me.
  • stayingcalm
    stayingcalm Member Posts: 650 Member
    #6
    marijune said:

    Not all hair was lost
    I had my head shaved but not all of my hair came out.I had 4 rounds of chemo so far. There is a thin fuzz around the head. does this mean the chemo isnt working on me.

    Hair loss
    Oh no, everybody reacts differently. Often the hair doesn't all fall out and that's one of the best reasons to shave it off - so we don't look like a dog with mange :) You've had four rounds - how many weeks is that? Really, the only gauges to measure how well the chemo is working are the seemingly incessant scans we have - CT, PET, MRI, x-ray, etc., plus blood work and your physician's expertise :)

    Speaking of mange - my hair has never really recovered from the whole brain radiation, and it's also apparently breaking, as well as being entirely crazed from the Tarceva. So I'm going to have my son shave it off for me tonight, I think. Wish me luck, he hasn't been shaving that long, himself....

    Deb

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