question

dee1962

You know this Mets thing is all new to me and i'm trying to understand how it works. So if i respond to this chemo it never really goes away right. There is going to be a follow up program to follow i'm wondering if it's gonna be iv or pill and will my hair grow back, i know it seems silly to worry about things like hair and eyebrows, and lashes but it bothers me so much, i just can't imagine my whole life without these 3 things. Do i sound crazy for feeling this way.....what do u think?

pattimc

Dee
I don't know your situation or anything, but I just wanted to say that no one here thinks its silly to worry about your hair, eyelashes or eyebrows. We've all been there. It's a part of who we are and when it's missing it's can be very hard on us.

Take care!

Patti

MyTurnNow

Dee, I wanted to welcome you
Dee, I wanted to welcome you to the board, I don't believe I have. I am sorry that I don't have experience with mets but there are ladies on here that will share their knowledge with you. Good luck and like Patti said, don't ever feel bad about worrying regarding losing your hair. It is a BIG deal!!

VickiSam

MyTurnNow said:

Dee, I wanted to welcome you
Dee, I wanted to welcome you to the board, I don't believe I have. I am sorry that I don't have experience with mets but there are ladies on here that will share their knowledge with you. Good luck and like Patti said, don't ever feel bad about worrying regarding losing your hair. It is a BIG deal!!

I agree with all that has been said ... It is a BIG deal,
is the wrapping paper, and ribbon on a neatly and cared for present. There are hats, head wraps and bandana's to help you along the way ..

We are here for you 24/7 - someone somewhere suffering from insomonia will pop up and post,

Welcome to our site - I am sorry that you had to find us, but I am glad you are here!

Strength and Courage:

❥ ❥ Vicki Sam ❥ ❥

missrenee

VickiSam said:

I agree with all that has been said ... It is a BIG deal,
is the wrapping paper, and ribbon on a neatly and cared for present. There are hats, head wraps and bandana's to help you along the way ..

We are here for you 24/7 - someone somewhere suffering from insomonia will pop up and post,

Welcome to our site - I am sorry that you had to find us, but I am glad you are here!

Strength and Courage:

❥ ❥ Vicki Sam ❥ ❥

Dee, I had very aggressive chemo treatment
My hair was gone by day 14 of the first treatment, then my eyebrows and eyelashes. In fact, every hair on my whole body. I looked like a hairless cat. But, after treatment, gradually everything started awakening again--like the flowers in the springtime. I now have about an inch of hair on my head and it's even thicker(everyone thinks it's chic!), my eyelashes are at about 75% and my brows are back.

Downside--it was pretty nice not shaving the legs, underarms or worrying about bikini waxes for awhile, but I'll take it all back--gladly!

Hang in there--you'll get there. Check in with us anytime.

Hugs, Renee

CypressCynthia

No, you are not crazy at
No, you are not crazy at all. Hair is so much a part of our identity! I never liked my hair (curly), but the 2 times that I cried the hardest: 1) trying on a wig before I lost my hair and 2) in the shower when my hair came back in clumps.

My eyebrows, eyelashes and hair came back as thick as ever, but I hardly have any hair on my legs now. Maybe it would have been detined to do that anyway as my dad didn't have much leg hair late in life and I look just like him. But lol, you have to love that!

Jean 0609

Hi Dee,
Welcome. This is a great site to ask all your questions, just read and observe, or just vent. There are wonderful ladies (and some gentlemen) here. Everyone is different, I didn't loose all my hair, but did a short buzz cut anyway. I was one of the lucky ones and didn't loose my eyebrows or lashes either. I was ready, though. It took a while. I was more upset at first about losing my hair than losing a boob. Hugs, Jean

webbwife50

not silly!!
It is not silly to worry about these things. We always took them for granted and they are a part of how we see ourselves as women. Cancer sucks!!! Love and hugs...alison

smalldoggroomer

Welcome Dee
I can't comment on mets, but I just had my last chemo Taxotere, carboplatin,herceptin. and the Neulasta shot the day after. I lost my hair on day 14 after the fist treatment. And I lost it in Wal-mart!!! I was on the phone with my husband at the time we laughed about it as I was stuffing hair in my pockets looking for hinges ha ha ha. But I never completely lost my eye lashes or brows. I never needed pencil on browse and can still wear mascara. As fare as responding to the chemo, if what you mean is do the effects go away yes in time they do. You will feel better hair will all grow back. I'm not saying it is easy but it doable. And we are here all the way with you. Any thing you want or need to ask we are here. I have decided for me as my hair grows back I get to try every length and see what I like best. My Dr told me it will start coming back about 6 weeks after last chemo. So all I have to wait now is about 6 weeks!!! There is a end to it Honey and you have all the help you want or need right here. Stay positive and strong. Look for the good things. Take care Kay

2Floridiansisters

webbwife50 said:

not silly!!
It is not silly to worry about these things. We always took them for granted and they are a part of how we see ourselves as women. Cancer sucks!!! Love and hugs...alison

I agree cancer sucks.....
Does anyone know if my hair and eyebrows were already thin before diagnoses, will the hair come back just as thin or will I be lucky and have thicker hair? I sort've overplucked the brows over the years and my hair was beginning to look thin I think just due to aging. Thanks

winsomebulldog

You aren't being silly!
We have a lot of things to deal with as we go through this battle. The hair loss is just one of them, and it is not silly to worry about it. It's a big part of who we are. As everyone else has said, don't feel bad about worrying about it. And we are all here for you and share your worries and uncertainties.

I have no personal experience with mets, so I'm sorry that I can't offer any insights into it. There are plenty of others here who are experiencing it, though. We will all do our best to help you through this. That's why we're all here.

Sorry you have to be here, but I'm glad you found us! I know that this site has been a TREMENDOUS help to me. So much information, support, encouragement and camaraderie! Not to mention a lot of laughter, which is so important as we fight this battle.

God Bless you as you fight!

Jenn

cahjah75

Dee
welcome to this network of wonderful sisters who have been there and done that. I don't know much about mets but I had chemo #4 of 6 yesterday. I lost my hair 14 days after first chemo and had the rest buzzed by my hairdresser the next day. I attended a feel good, look good program on how to apply makeup and try on wigs. Since I'm not a wig person I wear hats and scarfs. My eyebrows (which I've plucked since I was 18) and eyelashes have thinned considerably but not gone completely yet. I no longer have hair under my arms or legs and that's fine by me. My sister who is a 8 year survivor had hair come back in real curly but now it's like it looked before bc and chemo. This journey is not fun but there is a future of hair coming back.
{{hugs}} Char

pinkflutterby

cahjah75 said:

Dee
welcome to this network of wonderful sisters who have been there and done that. I don't know much about mets but I had chemo #4 of 6 yesterday. I lost my hair 14 days after first chemo and had the rest buzzed by my hairdresser the next day. I attended a feel good, look good program on how to apply makeup and try on wigs. Since I'm not a wig person I wear hats and scarfs. My eyebrows (which I've plucked since I was 18) and eyelashes have thinned considerably but not gone completely yet. I no longer have hair under my arms or legs and that's fine by me. My sister who is a 8 year survivor had hair come back in real curly but now it's like it looked before bc and chemo. This journey is not fun but there is a future of hair coming back.
{{hugs}} Char

mets
I have mets to my bones and spinal fluid and fluid around my brain. I did chemo for a year for my breast (which is all clear now!!!) I now have a port in my head for the chemo for my spinal and brain fluid which I get once a month. I take Xeloda pill form 6 each day. My hair all came back with a vengence LOL. I had lost all my eyebrows, eyelashes all other hair BUT my head never went totally bald. So my bet is when your onc changes your chemo, yours will come back too. I hated not having eye brows or lashes, having them again makes me feel so more like a lady

welcome to our sisterhood.

Libby

Marsha Mulvey

pinkflutterby said:

mets
I have mets to my bones and spinal fluid and fluid around my brain. I did chemo for a year for my breast (which is all clear now!!!) I now have a port in my head for the chemo for my spinal and brain fluid which I get once a month. I take Xeloda pill form 6 each day. My hair all came back with a vengence LOL. I had lost all my eyebrows, eyelashes all other hair BUT my head never went totally bald. So my bet is when your onc changes your chemo, yours will come back too. I hated not having eye brows or lashes, having them again makes me feel so more like a lady

welcome to our sisterhood.

Libby

mets
Hi Dee. From reading your other post, I see that you have mets to bones with a spot on a lung, and lymph node involvement. One thing at a time, your nodes may well respond to the chemo - even the ones near or above the collar bone. The spot on the lung may disappear as well (especially if it is very small when detected), but according to my onc, the spots in the bones will never be gone. He says they can be stabilized and the growth stopped, but will never actually be gone. (Yet I've read where some with bone mets are declared to be with NED - so I don't fully understand it.)

The type of cancer you have is what determines the choice for long-term treatment. For instance, if your cancer is hormone fed, you will likely receive a hormone blocker. Most of these are in pill form. If however, your cancer is HER2+, your long-term will probably be Herceptin. There is (at this time) no pill form so it must be infused. Also, Zometa will probably continue to be a part of your treatment.

Truthfully, you need to get the answers from your onc as we can only share our personal experiences.
I know that metastasized cancer is now treated as chronic. The treatment begins with "first line", followed by maintenance, monitoring, and finally more treatment as needed.

I'm sorry you've had this recurrence and wish you all the best. You've found a really good site to post your concerns, ask questions, and seek or give encouragement.
Marsha

dee1962

Marsha Mulvey said:

mets
Hi Dee. From reading your other post, I see that you have mets to bones with a spot on a lung, and lymph node involvement. One thing at a time, your nodes may well respond to the chemo - even the ones near or above the collar bone. The spot on the lung may disappear as well (especially if it is very small when detected), but according to my onc, the spots in the bones will never be gone. He says they can be stabilized and the growth stopped, but will never actually be gone. (Yet I've read where some with bone mets are declared to be with NED - so I don't fully understand it.)

The type of cancer you have is what determines the choice for long-term treatment. For instance, if your cancer is hormone fed, you will likely receive a hormone blocker. Most of these are in pill form. If however, your cancer is HER2+, your long-term will probably be Herceptin. There is (at this time) no pill form so it must be infused. Also, Zometa will probably continue to be a part of your treatment.

Truthfully, you need to get the answers from your onc as we can only share our personal experiences.
I know that metastasized cancer is now treated as chronic. The treatment begins with "first line", followed by maintenance, monitoring, and finally more treatment as needed.

I'm sorry you've had this recurrence and wish you all the best. You've found a really good site to post your concerns, ask questions, and seek or give encouragement.
Marsha

Marsha Mulvey
Thank you so much for all the information. I just like to know a few things before i actually ask the Dr. so i kind of know what to expect....

dee1962

pinkflutterby said:

mets
I have mets to my bones and spinal fluid and fluid around my brain. I did chemo for a year for my breast (which is all clear now!!!) I now have a port in my head for the chemo for my spinal and brain fluid which I get once a month. I take Xeloda pill form 6 each day. My hair all came back with a vengence LOL. I had lost all my eyebrows, eyelashes all other hair BUT my head never went totally bald. So my bet is when your onc changes your chemo, yours will come back too. I hated not having eye brows or lashes, having them again makes me feel so more like a lady

welcome to our sisterhood.

Libby

I know right the hair thing
I know right the hair thing well so far i still have everything, i think maybe by next week that too shall be gone....tomorrow it will be my 15 day and 3rd treatment and from what i've read it should happen this week.....and i am sure glad i found you ladies.....<3<3