Done cemo now to be nuked

cripper
cripper Member Posts: 2
Hi
I was found to have stage 2a hodgkins on may,1, 2003. I have finished my cemo thank god, and I am starting radiation on the 2nd of october. Man I can't wait for my hair to grow back. My eyebrows beard and mustache and head are as bald as can be. Along with everywhere else. How long does it usually take for the hair to come back?? It sure is nice to tast my food normally though. Also what kind of feedback can I get on how radiation is compared to cemo. My cemo was pretty sucky but it could have been worse. I had ABVD for 4 cycles (eight treatments). Three hours on a IV every other week for 4 months. But really wondering about the hair time and radiation effect.

Thanks
Christopher

Comments

  • sherra
    sherra Member Posts: 41
    I completed 6 months, well 6 cycles - 12 rounds of ABVD and 18 treatments of radiation. I didn't lose all my hair on my head surprisingly enough, it just got so thin that I was forced to cut it to a short spike and wear a wig. Anyway-it started to all grow back after chemo was finished and within 2 months I stopped wearing a wig. My eyebrows grew back within a month or so. I recieved radiation to my chest, neck and armpit. I lost the hair everywhere I recieved radiation including to the back of my head but within a month or so afterwards it started to grow back. Radiaion wasn't so bad except having to go everyday and the worse sore throat I've ever had. I'm a little worried about cancer later in life due to radiation but I'll deal with it if it happens, the benefits of remission today outway those side effects.
    take care and feel free to email me with any questions
    sherra
  • AlloMan
    AlloMan Member Posts: 47
    Can't tell you about the hair. I think that varies person to person. I think the eyebrow hair general grows slower. Hair is over rated.

    Effect of radiation varies on where you're being radiated. If your abdomen is being radiated you could have digestion problems. I've known of people whose upper chest/neck were radiated who had severe sore throats. No matter where you're getting radiated, use lots of good skin cream because you can get a burn and you may get very tired. I went through 12 weeks of Stanford V treatment, then 3 1/2 weeks of radiation to my abdomen back in Spring of 2001 for HD. What I remember most was sleeping 2-3 hours every afternoon after getting radiated. Good luck.
  • dpomroy
    dpomroy Member Posts: 135
    Congrats on being done with your chemo! I thought radiation was easier for many reasons. The physical symptoms seemed less difficult. With chemo I was nauseaus, like you I lost ALL my hair, I was exhausted, and lost quite a bit of weight. With radiation I did get a sore and dry throat, redness at the radiation site, and was somewhat tired. But those symptoms were easier to manage. I sucked on lemon drops, lotioned up the dry skin and took little naps when I could in the afternoon. From an emotional standpoint it was easier too. Radiation was something I could fit into my "normal" schedule instead of the way it felt with chemo - that I had to fit my life around the treatments. I just went to radiation after work on my way home. In and out in less that half an hour. The only real annoying thing about radiation for me was that you had to do it EVERYday. I don't even do things that I like to every single solitary day. My hair started to grow back pretty quickly after I was done with chemo. I had peach fuzz within a month, a GI Jane hairdo within a couple of months, and within a few months had to go for my first trim to give it a little style. Good luck with it. I'm sure you'll do just fine.
  • KRISSY23
    KRISSY23 Member Posts: 4
    HAIR ONE MONTH FOR ME. RADATION IS NOTHING COMPAIRED TO CHEMO. I THOUGHT CHEMO WAS HELL ON EARTH [STILL CONVINCED IT IS] AND I WAS TERRIFED OF RADIOTION BEING THAT BAD. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME IT WAS WORRING ABOUT THAT. RADIATION IS A WALK IN THE PARK. YOU'RE ALLREADY THROUGH THE WORST.
  • stepet
    stepet Member Posts: 69
    This is for anyone who may be searching and reading these old discussions. I went through radiation treatment only for hodgkins 1a in the winter of 2003. I had 20 treatments and from day one I was sick as a dog. I don't want to scare anyone I just want people to know that everyone is different and you may need more help then you think. I vomited every day lost weight couldn't eat, got thrush, needed iv fluids and basically felt like hell! just be aware out there! Watch for signs of this type and get help if you need it.