Hair loss ten years after chemo

Abby76

Hair Loss

Has anyone tried a hair transplant

jennybwp

Hair loss

Original diagnosis in 2017 w heavy chemo, bilateral mastectomy  and radiation. My hair fell out w chemo, was growing back by radiation. I kept it really short but it was fairly thick. Recurrence of cancer in 2019. This time had a/c and taxol for chemo. Hair came out again, grew back after a few months. Now, about 14 months later, it is really falling out. I have lots of pink scalp showing through. I'm going to try a laser cap and finesteride. Ill keep you all posted. 

veedyaca

Hair loss

I was diagnosed with breast cancer (Her2 Positive) in 9/2018. I had a lumpectomy, chemotherapy (12 weeks), and radiation (4 weeks)  My hair fell out with chemo and started growing back after radiation.  I noticed before I was diagnosed with breast cancer, my hair was falling out.  I started getting bald spots in the crown area of my head.  I was starting to think this hair loss was due to the breast cancer.  I went to a dermatologist prior to my breast cancer diagnosis and was diagnosed with Alopecia.  My hair started growing back in 5/2019 after radiation but my hair started falling out again in 9/2020.  I am on a hormone therapy drug called Anastrozole .  Have anyone experience hair loss taking Anastrozole?  I am very thankful and grateful to be alive, but I do miss my hair.   I pray there will be a breakthrough in science for a hair treatment to grow back and keep our hair!  Take care everyone and I wish you all well!

Chickadee1955

Hair loss

Ladies, I am very sorry you have to deal with this.  I, too, lost all my hair with chemo in 2010.  It came back black and wiry, then came in a bit lighter and much straighter.  I used to have curly hair, but now it's more wavy than curly.  It is also much thinner.  I have developed bald spots on either side of my forehead, kind of like my Dad's receding hairline!  My internist hasn't a clue, nor my oncologist, and my dermatologist wants to biopsy a couple of rough patches on my scalp to try to decide what could be causing it.  

What I find most frustrating is that with SO MANY of us with long-term hair issues, why isn't this discussed with us, and WHY do all the docs seem baffled? Surely, they hear this on a daily basis and it would seem they'd be interested in searching for an answer/solution.

Loraine0319

Roberta61 said:

hair loss after 5 years

I was diagnosed 5 years ago, at 54, had lumpectomy, chemo, radiotherapy, 2 yrs of tamoxifene, then 3 yrs of letrozole (almost finished). My hair had grown back really thick and curly, and reached down to my hips, never had it this long and thick! Until a few months ago. Then I started to loose lots of it, have already lost about a third of it, and cut it down to my shoulders to better cope with it. I guess it's because it's all the same age, so all due for turnover at the same time?  But the new regrowth is very thin and scraggly... yuk! In the meantime menopause set in, so maybe that's affecting it too?

Hair loss

Were you on Taxotere? they gave me tax return it's been 2 1/2 months in my hair has barely grown back and I heard it might be permanent

Loraine0319

Permanent hair loss

My last chemo treatment was December 4, 2020 were in February now and my hair has barely grown back and whatever's come back is very thin ans sparce.  I also have not had my eyelashes growing back yet I had a few left I did not lose all of them but the ones I did lose are not back yet and it's been 2 1/2 months. I was just told that it might be permanent and I am so devastated I can barely sleep at night. Anyone else have this problem with taxotere??  I did use the code caps but it didn't help that much I only have a bout 10% of hair left.  im 35 years old

 

Loraine0319

asilinc298 said:

My heart is breaking as I

My heart is breaking as I read each of your stories.  I just finished chemo almost 2 months ago, so I have some hair growing back in, but top of my scalp looks a lot thinner than the rest of my head.  I did 12 weeks of taxol and am worried that my hair will never be the same.  It was down to my butt last summer. I am prying that all of you ladies get some real help with regrowth of your hair.  

 

Hair thin after chemo

Hi I was just wondering if you're hair ever went back to normal? I was on Taxotere and didn't realize you can have permanent hair loss and i did use the cool caps but my hair is not going back fully it's been 2 1/2 months. Im terrified ((

May.

Loraine0319 said:

Permanent hair loss

My last chemo treatment was December 4, 2020 were in February now and my hair has barely grown back and whatever's come back is very thin ans sparce.  I also have not had my eyelashes growing back yet I had a few left I did not lose all of them but the ones I did lose are not back yet and it's been 2 1/2 months. I was just told that it might be permanent and I am so devastated I can barely sleep at night. Anyone else have this problem with taxotere??  I did use the code caps but it didn't help that much I only have a bout 10% of hair left.  im 35 years old

 

Permanent or chronic?

I had my last chemo 2 days before yours Loraine, on December 2, 2020 and about your age. I had super thick (brown/dark blond) hair and now it is white, thin and very sparce. I heard a hairdresser talk about giving it 2 years, but I have been reading about Docetaxel (Taxotere) and the risk of hair thinning/hair loss after treatment, and it is quite devastating. I read one article though that said it can be a long journey back, but many are left with thin hair even when it does grow back slowly. I am thnking about trying PRP treatment. Also a hair transplant (I have more hair back on my head). I dont know but I am still clinging to the hope that there can be regrowth even after this long time. 

 

GlowMore

HAIR ** It Drives Us Crazy **

Hellos Everyone,  I am a Long Time BC Survivor diagnosed in 2002  Triple Negative Stage III **  Lumpectomy/Chemo/Radiation ..  PortOCath implanted and 8 years later removed at my request **  The Hair thing seems to NEVER END **  However mine is super strange... because it is growing inside my scalp and now seems to want to grow down my neck into my back and shoulders and the hair in my pubic area is growing out toward my hips/thighs/belly/sides  ***  all very slowly but I KNOW it is happening.  Still required to have PET Scans and CT Scans and bloodwork every 6 months **  Very Grateful to be Alive  ** Here to tell you ALL that Survival is Possible and sending you ALL Prayers for Strength & Courage *

Molly110

May. said:

Permanent or chronic?

I had my last chemo 2 days before yours Loraine, on December 2, 2020 and about your age. I had super thick (brown/dark blond) hair and now it is white, thin and very sparce. I heard a hairdresser talk about giving it 2 years, but I have been reading about Docetaxel (Taxotere) and the risk of hair thinning/hair loss after treatment, and it is quite devastating. I read one article though that said it can be a long journey back, but many are left with thin hair even when it does grow back slowly. I am thnking about trying PRP treatment. Also a hair transplant (I have more hair back on my head). I dont know but I am still clinging to the hope that there can be regrowth even after this long time. 

 

pace of hair regrowth

My last chemo was January  10, 2020. I had uterine cancer, not breast cancer, and my chemo included taxol, rather than taxotere. I wanted to chime in, though, to respond to your concern about your hair regrowth less than 4 months after chemo. It is perfectly normal to have very little regrowth 4 months after your last chemo and to have whatever hair does grow back that soon be wispy or sparse. My hair was both initially and also had the texture of a baby chick. (My hair before chemo was thick and wavy.) It wasn't until six months or so post chemo that it started to grow in more normally, but at an extremely slow pace. It is still growing much slower than it did before chemo, but it is growing. It was about 13 months after my last chemo before I looked like I had a short haircut rather than had hair growing out after chemo. My hair came in thinner at the crown and temples, and I'm only now -- 15 months post chemo -- having new hair grow in normally in those places. So, it is too early for you to tell what your regrowth will be like. Losing my hair was very difficult for me, and I'm not making light of what you're experiencing, just wanting to reassure you that your hair regrowth is normal for being 4 months out. My sister in law's hair grew back thick and quick after her breast cancer chemo, and that was normal, too, given the wide variance in how and when hair regrows.

Losing one's hair and worrying about getting it back is made much worse by a lack of research and easy access to acurate information. The website of a popular breast cancer organization presented an unrealistic timeline for regrowth, which many other sites picked up and used also. Because there is much less publicly voiced concern about hair loss in uterine cancer forums than in breast cancer forums, when I wanted to find out before starting chemo when I could expect my hair to grow back, I got my information from that site. That misinformation caused me so much sadness and anxiety until I learned it wasn't accurate.

Best wishes,

Molly

 

CMC123

Hair!

I had chemo and 2014 and lost all of my hair through Taxotere, the red devil. Prior to chemo my hair was regular to thin and slightly straight. After chemo, it started to grow back, and when I did it was super thick and lustrous, and had wonderful curls. It was amazing. I was 51. I was put on Tamoxifen for 6 months, until it was determined that I was in menopause, which is what chemo did to me, and then placed on Exemestane which I couldn't tolerate, and so was switched to Letrozole. Anyway, at about 2016 to 2017, I noticed that my hair was really sparse, frizzy, flat, and that there were no curls. I did some research and found that the supplement Saw Palmetto was supposed to help me because it was a DHT blocker. It blocks the part of testosterone that is responsible for hair loss. I passed this by my oncologist and she said it was fine. It did help my hair; and it took a year and a half for it to not look like total crap. It is nowhere near the lustrous, gorgeous mane I had after chemo, but at least people don't look at me and think I have a problem with my hair. I attribute this hair loss pretty much to the aromatase inhibitor I was on, which in my case was Letrozole. Of course, Oncologists never tell you these things because they want you to remain alive, but I'm pretty sure that if anyone above is taking an aromatase inhibitor, that may very well be the culprit. I have just gone off Letrozole after seven years, and my hope is that I will get my hair back, lose the 35 lbs. I gained, get my vision back, strengthen my bones now that I have osteoporosis, and fix the issues with my heart that have crept up while on this drug.

somebodyspancake

Double Whammy said:

Well, I'm one of those women

Well, I'm one of those women who last saw my hair 10.5 YEARS ago.  I had Taxotere and it all fell out and very little of it returned.  I do not go put of the house without wearing a wig.  Thank goodness I am retired and have come to accept it and frankly, my wigs look good.  I do NOT accept that this is ok and was totally devastated  for many years.. Now it is just what it is and I am thankful to be alive, but what is not ok is that I was not warned that this might happen.  Im sorry I have no advice for losing hair 10 years after chemo, tho.  Nor do I have any for the permanent hair loss I have experienced.  I hope that women are being warned of this now.  I would likely have chosen chemo and taken my chances, but to be so caught off guard just is not ok!  

me to!

 To answer the question: are women being told Long Lasting side affects Years after treatment...... NO!!!!

    I am 7years out of stage3 b er/her2 positive with 11 out of 21 lymph nodes positive. I feel that doctors ignore that you have had cancer and blame EVERYTHING on Fibromyalgia.  For the last 5years I have had the same types of hairloss and countless other problems. Before my hair started coming out it grew back curley and not as thick as my original hair. When it started coming out it was in wad fulls like I had just started chemo. Shedding like a dog, massive hair fallout when washing hair and just running fingers thru hair was awful!

I am to the point now, I get angry.. pissed off even bc My hair is EVERYWHERE!!!!  I have been to endocrinologists{2}, dermatolgist{2}, oncologist, neurologist{4} and all lab work that  has been done are within normal limits For A NON CANCER PATIENT.  I Truly beleive that is Not factored in to Any of their ranges. One dermatologist said: nnothing she could do.. it is what it is. The other said: it was early androgenic alopecia; inherited. No one in my family has alopecia problems. Yes, my symtoms are what is defined in this but not geneticly or enviromentaly either.  I have often wondered if hairloss after a few years is normal. Along with Eyebrow loss. {Don't let me get  started on that subject either!!}

I am sick and tired of doctors not being fully honest nor want to actully want to help a patient feel better and have a better quality of life. 

You are told in the very begining to not google all you should on your cancer..... I Now Know The Reason Why!!!!   They Don't want you to know what your quality of life will be like after treatment ends!!!

 

Phoebesnow

Mandy Turner

hi have you been checked for uterine or ovarian cancer?  Have you had any genetic testing done?

Double Whammy

11 years of being bald

My hair never came back after chemo ELEVEN years ago.  I had Taxotere and Cytoxin.  Pleese report all hairloss to your phyaician and a lawyer.  There is curently a ckass action lawsuit against Sanofi for failure to disclose.  

 

TeresaDarling

Hair loss

I so wish one of my medical professionals would have even said that I wasn't alone! It is too coincidental that so many of us are in the same boat with hair loss years following cancer treatment. I have a friend who wears a wig. I complemented her how great her hair always looks, and it was only then that she confessed to wearing a wig. She turned out to be a Godsend! I started wearing a wig a few weeks ago. It's not a perfect solution, but I have more confidence out in public. 

anniemshe

Hair loss

To the oncologist I guess hair loss is a small price to pay for us overcoming cancer and being able to live and function daily!! So they don't consider it a factor worth mentioning!! But obviously the chemo has causes a lot hair issues and that is undeniable. 

maggieob

Hair Thinning

I had anal cancer in 2018.  I lost all my hair, which was very wavy/curly.  It came back very wavy and I was very grateful.  However in the last 3 month, my hair has become very thin and straight, almost no wave at all.  My doctor says that it is still the chemo in my body.  Just seems like a long time to effect my hair.  Anyone else have issues?

gmamac

I cannot express what reading these comments means to me...it seems absurd, but I did not realize how many other women struggle with some of the same issues I have with hair loss. I had my second cancer diagnosis in 2013 with chemo- Abraxane- radiation, and a double mastectomy. Lost all my hair on day 13 of chemo and became the famous "cool hat" lady at work. Some of my hair grew back quickly in varying colors and textures and now, 7 years out, I have hair like a circus clown- nearly bald on top and very thin on the sides. I still have fairly thick hair in back but nothing like I had before. My hair has also gone from very white, to gray and white, and is now very dark brown and gray with odd orangey duck-butt fluff on top. It seems so self-absorbed to be vain and self-conscious at 71 but I do feel a little less embarrassed as I appear to be in good company. I am just starting the journey with wigs as I think I do isolate a bit due to my self-consciousness. I also was just diagnosed with stage 4 metastatic BC last January and with covid issues I rarely leave the house except for med appointments but maybe I will try to get out more this spring. Thank you all- hope for healthy recoveries.

Meesh

Hello

I had breast cancer in 2005. lumpectomy, wide axial lymph node removal, chemo plus radio, followed by Herceptin. Lost my hair, it came back curly and lovely, eventually my hair returned to normal.

2015 - 10 years on my hair began to fall out. Not completely, but was very thin and short. It was also a time of extreme stress and weight loss when I split up with my husband. I always thought that was stress related. My hair did grow back.

2022 - 17 years on, my father had a long illness and I had to care for him in the hospital (Covid/lack of staff over Christmas/NHS cuts). He died in March this year. And guess what, my hair is now falling out (sadly without the weight loss this time, ha ha).

I know these are stressful times, but I have been wondering if this is also due to past chemo treatment, leaving me more susceptible . There also seem to be a lot of people who had Herceptin on this thread.

I don't know, but I know life is really tough without hair as a woman, and from what I hear as a man too. I am worried that my hair won't grow back, plus it is still falling out, I feel strands landing on my arms as a constant reminder. It's great to be ageing after this diagnosis, but it's also difficult to embrace what comes with ageing and having so many factors likely to be contributing to hair loss is depressing.

I don't know what to say, but there does seem to be a lot of us with this problem post chemo. I did have the red chemo too. For me it seems there are other factors too ie: age, divorce/grief... who knows. But the medics do need to research this. And I know I should be grateful I'm here, but it's so lovely to be able to discuss this on here with others who understand and who won't tell me I'm not looking at the bigger picture.

Hairy best wishes to all.

Meesh

Summary: chemo/Herceptin link to hair loss susceptibility years after treatment - possibly during stressful times as hair loss never happened pre-diagnosis during times of stress?