Hair loss with rads?

TracyLynn72
TracyLynn72 Member Posts: 839
in Head and Neck Cancer #1

 

I was wondering if it was common to lose hair when having radiation treatments?  I've noticed just in the last couple of days, when I take a shower and wash my hair, I end up with a small handful.  Also when I brush it out.  My mom had radiation for breast cancer and her hair thinned out a little bit, but I'm wondering with the radiation being at my HEAD if I'll lose my hair?  Is that normal?  If it continues, I'll go buzz cut it and not be worried about bald spots.  I've had no chemo, just rads (halfway done, starting week 4 of 6) 

Comments

  • cureitall66
    cureitall66 Member Posts: 913
    #2
    No major hair loss...

    Hi TracyLynn72,

     

    I don't think you will have to worry about much hair loss. My loved one only lost the hair in the back bottom part of his head where they hit the radiation. It did thin out a little on the top/sides. But, not to a point that he felt he had to shave. I think most here had this same experience.

    Great on your half way mark!

    ~C

     

  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #3
    The only place I lost

    my hair during radiaiton was a 2" swath along the back at the nape....and it was BALD....could the hair you're finding be coming from that spot?  I didn't even notice till one day I happened to look at my head from behind....

    I did lose some hair with chemo, tho.....especially the 5FU.....I started treatment with shoulder length hair, and the Onc told me I might want to get a buzz cut.....so I got my hair cut short but not a buzz.....thinking I'd get used to the new me slowly.  I never did need one, so am glad I didn't do it.

    p

  • TracyLynn72
    TracyLynn72 Member Posts: 839
    #4
    phrannie51 said:

    The only place I lost

    my hair during radiaiton was a 2" swath along the back at the nape....and it was BALD....could the hair you're finding be coming from that spot?  I didn't even notice till one day I happened to look at my head from behind....

    I did lose some hair with chemo, tho.....especially the 5FU.....I started treatment with shoulder length hair, and the Onc told me I might want to get a buzz cut.....so I got my hair cut short but not a buzz.....thinking I'd get used to the new me slowly.  I never did need one, so am glad I didn't do it.

    p

    Not sure exactly

    where it's coming from as nothing seems to look thin or anything right now.  When I run my fingers through it (or a comb) I end up with a small handful.  My hair is about and inch or so below my shoulders right now, I just had 3 inches cut off. Maybe it's just thinning out some?  The rads are going into my lower jaw area, but I figured I'd had every other side effect, maybe this was another one! haha  My doctors have all said that my entire cancer experience has been weird.  Leave it to me!! Laughing

  • CivilMatt
    CivilMatt Member Posts: 4,724 Member
    #5
    hair

    TL,

    I lost all hair from my chin down all-a-round my neck.  At 14 months post it is still kind of sketchy.

    Matt

  • fishmanpa
    fishmanpa Member Posts: 1,227 Member
    #6
    Hair?

    I had no hair to begin with and I've been doing the Mr. Clean thing for close to 14 years anyway ~lol~  I was given Cisplatin and while hair loss is a side effect, I didn't suffer any hair loss on my head or my body. However, I'll never have to shave my face again as the rads took care of that ;)

    "T"

     

  • robswife87
    robswife87 Member Posts: 209
    #7
    fishmanpa said:

    Hair?

    I had no hair to begin with and I've been doing the Mr. Clean thing for close to 14 years anyway ~lol~  I was given Cisplatin and while hair loss is a side effect, I didn't suffer any hair loss on my head or my body. However, I'll never have to shave my face again as the rads took care of that ;)

    "T"

     

    Rob lost the hair on the sides of his face, his neck and at the nape but we thought it would grow back after he was finished with all of this. 

    He will be really bummed out if he can't get his goatee back. His mustached has thinned alittle.

    Sandy

  • fishmanpa
    fishmanpa Member Posts: 1,227 Member
    #8
    robswife87 said:

    Rob lost the hair on the sides of his face, his neck and at the nape but we thought it would grow back after he was finished with all of this. 

    He will be really bummed out if he can't get his goatee back. His mustached has thinned alittle.

    Sandy

    Smooth.....

    Hi Sandy,

    Yep. My neck and face (from just below mid ear) are as smooth as a baby's behind :) I haven't had to shave that area at all. No beard or moustache. I've read and have been told it's permanent and that's fine with me as I shaved it anyway. 

    It depends on where the rads are hitting. Because I had an unknown primary, they hit pretty much everything sothat accounts for the hair loss. 

    "T"

  • TracyLynn72
    TracyLynn72 Member Posts: 839
    #9
    fishmanpa said:

    Smooth.....

    Hi Sandy,

    Yep. My neck and face (from just below mid ear) are as smooth as a baby's behind :) I haven't had to shave that area at all. No beard or moustache. I've read and have been told it's permanent and that's fine with me as I shaved it anyway. 

    It depends on where the rads are hitting. Because I had an unknown primary, they hit pretty much everything sothat accounts for the hair loss. 

    "T"

    well....

    at least mine is hitting the jaw and neck area and I'm a girl, so....  :)

     

    I asked him about it today and he said it was probably just thinning some and to just keep an eye on it.  He said it has been known to happen on occasion, but everyone is different.

     

    Thanks y'all!  

  • Billie67
    Billie67 Member Posts: 898
    #10
    TracyLynn72 said:

    well....

    at least mine is hitting the jaw and neck area and I'm a girl, so....  :)

     

    I asked him about it today and he said it was probably just thinning some and to just keep an eye on it.  He said it has been known to happen on occasion, but everyone is different.

     

    Thanks y'all!  

    Tracy
    I honestly doubt if you'll lose it all. Mine was falling out a little more than usual during rads too but the only real hair loss was in the very back at the nape like Phrannie said. I think mine was about 3 1/2 inches thick and went all the way across the back of my head. It's growing back tho and it's about 4 inches now and very soft and very curly! The rest of my hair is filling in as well. I'd say don't go crazy and cut it all off. Keep in mind that stress plays a huge factor in hair shedding. I can only guess that you have a tad bit of stress??? I know I sure did!
    Hope you can relax a little now :-)
    Billie
  • HelenBack
    HelenBack Member Posts: 87 Member
    #11
    My husband

    Lost a perfectly even, thick band of hair along the back of his head. Picture drawing a line from the top of one's ear to the top of the other ear by way of the back of one's head. All the way down to the nape, bald. Apparantly, that is an unusual amount. The top looks totally fine. My guess is that you'll maybe lose some like that (but much less) and if you have long hair it will cover it. It doesn't bother him although it's quite obvious and a tad strange. It would be a different story if it was in patches all over, but I've never heard of that here. I think it's from the radiation rather than the chemo.

    Helen

  • Laralyn
    Laralyn Member Posts: 532
    #12
    Lost a band across the bottom back

    I lost a band of hair along the bottom of the back of my head. The longer hair covered it up, so it just made my hair look a little thin. A year out of treatments and the hair is still pretty thin in that area, but it's slowly growing back. My hair also seemed to thin overall, maybe from chemo or from weight loss. Overall, it was minimal though!

  • hwt
    hwt Member Posts: 2,328 Member
    #13
    Laralyn said:

    Lost a band across the bottom back

    I lost a band of hair along the bottom of the back of my head. The longer hair covered it up, so it just made my hair look a little thin. A year out of treatments and the hair is still pretty thin in that area, but it's slowly growing back. My hair also seemed to thin overall, maybe from chemo or from weight loss. Overall, it was minimal though!

    Band of Brothers

    I also had the band in back from ear to ear. Mine didn't happen until about 3rd week post tx...by that time, if it was something that wasn't painful, it was ok. I am a year post tx and mine is finally to the point where I can clip it up but it can't quite make it to the ponytail yet. Overall, my hair is thinner than it used to be. Panic set in when I thought my eyelashes were going but that only lasted about a week.  Good news is no lady beard to pluck :-)

  • michdjp
    michdjp Member Posts: 220
    #14
    My dad's hair thinned a

    My dad's hair thinned a little but grew back. Funny thing is when it did grow back it grew back a little wavy. Go figure.

    best of luck 

    michelle

  • cadharose
    cadharose Member Posts: 52
    #15
    My understanding is that

    My understanding is that you're not supposed to lose hair from radiation except in the area of your body that is being hit with the radiation. So if they were giving radiation to your abdomen, for instance, you would not lose it anywhere on your head, but if they were giving radiation to any part of your head then you would lose it in the area of your head where the radiation beams go. And I believe it should grow back.

    I have been receiving daily radiation treatments for over 3 weeks to my neck and the base of my scalp. So far I have only had some hair thinning in the area on the back of my scalp, nowhere else. Doctor assures me that will grow back.

  • Skiffin16
    Skiffin16 Member Posts: 8,305 Member
    #16
    Like the Many Others...

    For rads, I only lost hair (about an inch) at the very back bottom portion on my neck... Also, like many below the jaw line on the hardest hit side it's smooth..., almost the same on the other side as welll, ....works for me.

    I wear my hair short and tapered, so with a fresh haircut, you can't tell it anyways.

    As for chemo, I lost ALL hair, entire body was smooth.... I even lost all of my toe nails, LOL...

    JG

  • phrannie51
    phrannie51 Member Posts: 4,716
    #17
    Skiffin16 said:

    Like the Many Others...

    For rads, I only lost hair (about an inch) at the very back bottom portion on my neck... Also, like many below the jaw line on the hardest hit side it's smooth..., almost the same on the other side as welll, ....works for me.

    I wear my hair short and tapered, so with a fresh haircut, you can't tell it anyways.

    As for chemo, I lost ALL hair, entire body was smooth.... I even lost all of my toe nails, LOL...

    JG

    I forgot when I was getting the

    5FU, I lost all the hair in my arm pits....LOL.  No biggie except for MONTHS afterwards my pits itched like crazy....I'd have to look around to see if anybody was watching, and then go crazy scratching...

    p

  • Ingrid K
    Ingrid K Member Posts: 813
    #18
    not to worry

    Don't worry too much about losing hair from the radiation.  You may loose a strip in the back from ear to ear like others have said. 

    Mine went almost all at once....about week 4.  I just let the rest of it grow and it covered it up well enough.....and it grew back !!

    so much so that I am now growing it out to donate to Panteen to make wigs.

     

  • TracyLynn72
    TracyLynn72 Member Posts: 839
    #19
    Ingrid K said:

    not to worry

    Don't worry too much about losing hair from the radiation.  You may loose a strip in the back from ear to ear like others have said. 

    Mine went almost all at once....about week 4.  I just let the rest of it grow and it covered it up well enough.....and it grew back !!

    so much so that I am now growing it out to donate to Panteen to make wigs.

     

    thank you all!

    Thanks everyone.  It seems to be coming out in little handfuls each day when I shower, but you can't tell.  I have a bunch of wild, wavy, messy hair so it covers any thinning pretty well, I hope.  I truly appreciate all of the replies! 

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