Radiation "exit wound" hair loss/regrowth

BrianKrashpad
BrianKrashpad Member Posts: 188
in Head and Neck Cancer #1
Hey kids! I'm two months out from end of radiation and chemo,and the radiation (in addition to making a very weird growth/bald pattern in my beard) left a large bald spot at the base of my neck, from the hairline up probably 2" x 2". Looks like I started having convulsions in the middle of a haircut!

Any experiences with how long (if ever?) it takes to grow back? It's hard for me to see it without using a hand mirror, so I tend to forget it's there, but every time I actually use mirrors to look at it, ouch, it's REALLY noticeable. And short of just shaving my head (or maybe a mohawk!) there's not a whole lot I can do about it (other than a wig, which might actually be fun).

Maybe I'm just being vain (wouldn't be the first time) but I sure would like to look closer to "normal" (don't get me started on the lymphedema under my chin!) again.

Comments

  • robert77dr
    robert77dr Member Posts: 54
    #2
    Hair
    It want take long at all my neck still no hair but thats ok.
  • Scambuster
    Scambuster Member Posts: 973
    #3
    robert77dr said:

    Hair
    It want take long at all my neck still no hair but thats ok.

    6-12 months though thinner in the affected area.
    6-12 months though thinner in the affected area.

    Scam
  • D Lewis
    D Lewis Member Posts: 1,581 Member
    #4
    You vain creature, you!
    Big plus for me - that wide strip on the back of my skull, reaching from ear to ear and from the nape of my neck up to the tops of my ears - started slowly growing back at about two or three months out. Down side is, it really really looks like pubic hair. Then I shed out my scant remaining pre-treatment hair, and it ALL grew back in looking like pubic hair. I asked my genius hairdresser to do something creative, to make it look like it was on purpose. I got this buzz cut punk hairdo that I actually got compliments on.

    Get creative. Indulge in your punk music fantasies!

    Deb
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #5
    STILL Got It
    A year after rads, I have my bald patch in back. a have a few hairs in there, but the vast majority is still gone - doc said it would not come back, but I know some folks do get new growth. You can't see my few hairs - it all looks bald. Probably easier for me - being a woman, I just grow my hair above the bald patch long enough to go over the bald part. I have wondered about tattooing, though - not gonna do it, but I've wondered.
  • Pam M
    Pam M Member Posts: 2,196
    #6
    D Lewis said:

    You vain creature, you!
    Big plus for me - that wide strip on the back of my skull, reaching from ear to ear and from the nape of my neck up to the tops of my ears - started slowly growing back at about two or three months out. Down side is, it really really looks like pubic hair. Then I shed out my scant remaining pre-treatment hair, and it ALL grew back in looking like pubic hair. I asked my genius hairdresser to do something creative, to make it look like it was on purpose. I got this buzz cut punk hairdo that I actually got compliments on.

    Get creative. Indulge in your punk music fantasies!

    Deb

    Rock On
    Deb,
    Everybody (me included) liked my post-treatment spiked hair, even if it was white and gray at first. got my "normal" hair now, and it doesn't look as good. My hair did not come back curly after chemo, just sturdy and full of body - I tell folks my hair's so straight, even my post-chemo hair was straight.
  • DrMary
    DrMary Member Posts: 531 Member
    #7
    D Lewis said:

    You vain creature, you!
    Big plus for me - that wide strip on the back of my skull, reaching from ear to ear and from the nape of my neck up to the tops of my ears - started slowly growing back at about two or three months out. Down side is, it really really looks like pubic hair. Then I shed out my scant remaining pre-treatment hair, and it ALL grew back in looking like pubic hair. I asked my genius hairdresser to do something creative, to make it look like it was on purpose. I got this buzz cut punk hairdo that I actually got compliments on.

    Get creative. Indulge in your punk music fantasies!

    Deb

    4 months for Doug
    It started to grow back about 2 months ago - short, fine stuff, like what grows on babies' bald spots. He just got the rest cut to match that growth, as it is now about 1 cm. Looks a lot more "normal" even though it is shorter than he usually wears it. I took him to a hairstylist (rather than his normal barber) - she did not say she'd ever worked with radiation regrowth before, but she did a great job.
  • hawk711
    hawk711 Member Posts: 566
    #8
    Pam M said:

    STILL Got It
    A year after rads, I have my bald patch in back. a have a few hairs in there, but the vast majority is still gone - doc said it would not come back, but I know some folks do get new growth. You can't see my few hairs - it all looks bald. Probably easier for me - being a woman, I just grow my hair above the bald patch long enough to go over the bald part. I have wondered about tattooing, though - not gonna do it, but I've wondered.

    lost beard, yea!
    I lost my entire beard, and it was quite heavy. I grow whiskers on my upper lip only now and a few straglers on my cheeks. I love not having to shave anymore!!!! I lost a bit of hair on the back of head, but it came back after 6 months. My hair is thinner now, but I've still got it all. No more beard growing for me !!
    All the best, Steve
  • sweetblood22
    sweetblood22 Member Posts: 3,228
    #9
    D Lewis said:

    You vain creature, you!
    Big plus for me - that wide strip on the back of my skull, reaching from ear to ear and from the nape of my neck up to the tops of my ears - started slowly growing back at about two or three months out. Down side is, it really really looks like pubic hair. Then I shed out my scant remaining pre-treatment hair, and it ALL grew back in looking like pubic hair. I asked my genius hairdresser to do something creative, to make it look like it was on purpose. I got this buzz cut punk hairdo that I actually got compliments on.

    Get creative. Indulge in your punk music fantasies!

    Deb

    Same as Deb.
    I lost from the top of my ears down. Plus the rest really thinned out. It started growing back a few months later, and my hair was always very thick and wiry. Now that half is even worse. Impossible to work with, it's like pubic hair. Mine is cropped short. Pixie cut.
  • BrianKrashpad
    BrianKrashpad Member Posts: 188
    #10
    Thanks
    for all the replies, looks like I'll just hafta wait and see what happens. There is some very very short superfine hair there, but from more than a foot away it's invisible, so the patch is good as bald. The missing half of my moustache is beginning to come back, so hopefully eventually so will the neck spot.
  • KristynRuth86
    KristynRuth86 Member Posts: 140
    #11
    BrianKrashpad said:

    Thanks
    for all the replies, looks like I'll just hafta wait and see what happens. There is some very very short superfine hair there, but from more than a foot away it's invisible, so the patch is good as bald. The missing half of my moustache is beginning to come back, so hopefully eventually so will the neck spot.

    Same here!
    I'm not adding anything new to what's already been said lol, but I feel your pain! Lucky for me I'm a girl and wigs are an easy thing to get away with! I just wore wigs until it finally grew in! It took about 2 months, but now it looks pretty normal! Take care!

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