Hair Loss.....and Chemo side effects

Hello Angel. You are right that each of us is different in our reaction to the chemo, but losing our hair is pretty much a given. I had 4 rounds of A/C starting Dec 17 2002. On Monday 2 weeks later, the first strands began to come out. Each day after that the hair came out more and more, especially since I was so astounded at the effect that I tugged on it just see if it would hurt. Nope. Just handfuls of hair. That Thursday my girlfriend cut my hair real short (about an inch long), but even then it was uncomfortable. The hair just fell out. It was everywhere. And it was hard to sleep with that "dead" hair. Sunday, the day before my 2nd round, my husband and I shaved my head. That was somewhat of a relief, but then I was bald! I had gone to the Cancer Store and picked out a wig when I had hair. Now would be a good time to do that since you will have a couple of weeks before it begins to come out. I basically hated the wig, but I wore it for a couple of months in public while it was cold. My dear friend sent me 4 crocheted scully caps and I wore only those for the rest of my "bald" days. I found that Target carries the scully caps and now have quite a collection of little caps that I will probably never wear again.

My hair loss began with my head hair, then my body hair -- legs, arms, cheeks, and yes That Hair, too! The last to go were my eyebrows and lashes. By the 3rd round I was hair-less, but by the end of March my head hair began to grow -- the softest hair! My lashes & brows came back first and looked pretty normal. Now, 3 months later, my hair is about 3/4 inch long and still real soft. Darn the luck, mine has not come back curly, so back to the hairdresser next year for a perm! And "That Hair" comes back new and soft, not anything like being shaved, so no discomfort there.

One thing I did while I was bald was have my head painted with henna in a design that covered my whole head. It didn't last long, but we took pictures and had fun doing it. Although this whole journey is frightening and too awful, there are ways to have fun and thumb your nose at the cancer and the treatment by saying "You are not going to get me down. See, we are laughing and sharing and life is good."

Good luck to you Angel and let us know how you are doing. ((hugs))

p.s. Wear Big Earrings!!

blossomtime said:

I started losing hair on my head about day 10 after first chemo. Gradually lost body hair and lastly most eyelashes and eyebrows. So for first time in my life I used eyebrown pencil. My eyeliner helped cover up the fact I had no eyelashes. And just like marysun I also tried to have fun with it. For Halloween I had my sons girlfriend paint my head with designs appropriate for the holiday. My hair is starting to come back, kind of curly and soft. Unfortunately sometimes it looks like I stuck my finger in a light socket. But it is still in very early stages so will hope for the best. Best of luck to you. My suggestion is get a good wig before it starts coming out so you will be ready. I wore mine out all the time but at home wore little scully caps or baseball cap depending on the weather. Take care.

I would like to say amen to the other relpies. My hair is so soft . I finished chemo may `02. Had my first perm a year last. That was a great day for me. I had a wig too,and some caps. Mind was not curly!!!!! good luck. mary

Hi Karen, I lost my head hair right on the 2 weeks mark after my first chemo, good thing i was prepared with a wig as for the rest of the hair on my body they just thinned out OOOHH and I thought i was the only one but by reading the replies i have to say (Glad not the only one ) but i lost THAT HAIR too LOL cant wait for everthing to grow back
Hugs, Mariateresa

bunnie said:

Hi karen.i did loose all of my hair everyone it has been nice not having to worry about shaving my legs and underarm.I have been done with chemo since Apirl 25th and iam starting to get hair back everywhere.In fact i just shaved my arms the other day.Good luck with the chemo.Bunnie(Amy)

A couple of people on the message board have mentioned little celebrations they have had for their family members and/or coworkers at the end of treatment..... champagne, for example, was nice. I was looking at your message wondering how to continue the momentum of celebration with haystacks for when hair grows back to be, say, half an inch..... then struggled to think of an appropriately inappropriate way to celebrate the return of armpit hair and, gasp, pubic hair. I have two more taxotere and radiation to go, but it seems I'm never going to lose my leggy hairs... no justice... I really like seeing the time frame information on how long it took for what to return because it gives me something to plan for. Love, Denise

Everybody really is different in their reactions. I never lost all my body hair, it just thinned out a lot. The only place I lost all of it was under my arms, and unfortunately it came back. Even the hair on my head didn't completely come out - I had some fuzz the whole time. I had a great wig made before I started chemo (and insurance paid for it - check with yours), which I would recommend. When my hair started to come out I shaved it off. I found it very uncomfortable falling out all over the place and I was clogging the shower. Best of luck to you - we'll be thinking about you.
Lisa

Karen,
Ditto to all of the responses; they give you very good suggestions on "what to do", especially getting a wig ahead of time, and cutting it off all at once when it starts. But reading your post I picked up on "I'm really nervous" and "here comes another shock". One thing I wanted to add is, don't let anyone tell you that you shouldn't be scared or anxious about the hair loss, because after all, "it's not important - why would you worry about THAT given everything else going on"; "it'll grow back" etc. While it may not be "rational" to put hair loss at the top of your "worry" list - who says you must be rational at all times when you have cancer ! Your emotions are REAL and VALID. Losing your hair is a very strange experience for most women and it is frightening.

I am a 7 year survivor and still remember being TERRIFIED at the thought of losing my hair. Call it vain (I prefer to think of it as a positive self image !) but I really liked my natually curly hair and didn't want to lose it, no matter how temporary. It was the anticipation that was the worst: how is it going to happen - will I just wake up one day...and also WHEN is it going to happen. I was so preoccupied with it I was "testing" my hair several times a day. One day after my second chemo, my "test" produced a clump of hair. Talk about shock - but then another part of me said, well at least I know what's it like now. After a day or two of more clumps I decided to have my hairdresser take it all off. Best thing I could've done. (If you are shy about having it done in a salon, ask if you can have it done in the back or private room.) Again, it was a big shock seeing myself for the first time, but the horrible waiting was over. Much better than watching it happen day by day. Plus, I found "no hair" was less bizarre looking than "patches of hair"

You may have seen women in public wearing nothing but a baseball cap, and no attempt to hide the obvious. I applaud their attitude, but I wasn't that brave. It made me more comfortable NOT being noticed, so 99 % of the time wore the wig. And believe me, YOUR comfort is what's important here - indulge it.

I wish someone had said to me, "Hey it's o.k. if you're scared about losing your hair". Instead I had the opposite; one encounter I'll never forget: After starting treatment but before the hair loss, I was getting a test done and the technican was male and bald. I happened to mention my anxiety over my impending hair loss and his response was a cheery "Now you'll know how I feel !" Gee - that was helpful. I'm sorry - NOT the same ! I remember other people who I know meant well, telling me "how interesting it was" and "how it really shows off your pretty face". Not what I wanted to hear. What cheered me up, was wearing my wig in a store, and having the saleswoman who was helping me ask me where I got my hair cut. HA !

Karen, it was a big deal to me and I can tell it is to you too. Everyone reacts differently and it's all valid. Please give yourself permission to be scared, sad, anxious, etc. about it. It is NORMAL. After the shock wears off (it will !) humor can help - but don't let anyone rush you !

Thanks everyone for letting me "rant" in this long post, especially since I am a newcomer.

Michele