hair loss again

ohilly
ohilly Member Posts: 441
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I have written several times about hair loss, but here I am again! I need some emotional support: it has now been 5 weeks since the end of my Taxotere/Cytoxan chemo. So many people have written in to tell me my hair will grow back and that this is a very short time, but somehow I seem unable to believe it and am convinced that I am going to be one of the few people whose hair will never grow back. Did anyone else experience this obsession? How did you deal with it? Is there anyone else out there whose hair took a long time to START growing back (I would be okay if it would just start no matter how long it took for it to grow back)and how did you manage your anxiety? I have no hair on my legs or under my arms either. Did anyone ever consult a dermatologist if their hair was really slow growing back, and are there any products that accelerate the hair growth (various people have mentioned Nioxin and prenatal vitamins)? I realize this is ridiculous for me to get this upset after such a short time, but what can I say? I am upset. Ohilly

Comments

  • sept30jk
    sept30jk Member Posts: 6
    #2
    Hi, My name is Joyce and I live in lancaster, Pa.
    I had both of my bc removed and ov. and Lyms.
    DCIS and Invasied, Stage 11a.
    I had 4 four rounds of Chemo. Taxotere and Cytoxan. My last Chemo was April 24, 2008.
    My hair is just now starting to grow. a little at time. I hope this will help you and lift your Spirits...........Joyce 13 wks.
  • sept30jk
    sept30jk Member Posts: 6
    #3
    Hi, My name is Joyce and I live in lancaster, Pa.
    I had both of my bc removed and ov. and Lyms.
    DCIS and Invasied, Stage 11a.
    I had 4 four rounds of Chemo. Taxotere and Cytoxan. My last Chemo was April 24, 2008.
    My hair is just now starting to grow. a little at time. I hope this will help you and lift your Spirits...........Joyce 13 wks.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #4
    My hair started to grow back at the end of chemo, but it was microscopic at first. You think you obsess? I had to use my magnifying mirror to see a trace of it and back lighting. But I checked on it in this way till it was "visible", which was a few weeks out from when it started growing. It doesn't grow in like, say, a five oclock shadow, but very baby fine at first. Keep looking! You're gonna be gorgeous. love Joyce
  • kbc4869
    kbc4869 Member Posts: 159
    #5
    Hi Ohilly,

    One thing that sticks in my mind that my onc said was that it takes 6 weeks for the chemo to get out of your system. I would give it a little more time. I know it's hard. And I can relate to the anxiety that you feel, but I really do believe that your hair is going to come back. In almost five years, I've never seen a post on this site from someone whose hair didn't come back. Hang in there. Spring is coming!

    Love,
    Kim
  • chenheart
    chenheart Member Posts: 5,159
    #6
    Well, sweetie, it is a big deal to obsess about our hair~ not frivolous at all! It is not only an outward signal that we are battling the beast, but for many of us, it also says something about how we feel as women. Our feminininity has ben compromised! Not trivial at all!

    I say I went from Bald, to Newborn, to Baby-Chick, to Finger-In-Light-Socket, to pretty much the hair I had before cancer! The underarm hair didn't grow back in the affected area ( thats the good news!) my eyebrows came back in rather patchy, but I did get a moustache! Go figure! So, I powder in my brows and wax my upper-lip, and, as they say, it's all good!

    I dare say it takes a woman's physical body about a year to "recover" from something beautiful, normal and natural, namely conception to birth to feeling like ourselves again. Chemotherapy then, with its anything but natural components will also take about that long....
    I know its difficult, but continue being patient! You will soon be rubbing your head for hours a day as you feel the soft, downey covering! I was just shy of asking perfect strangers to touch my head, I was so thrilled!
    :-) My family, both physical and cyber, rejoiced with and for me. Just as yours will for you!!

    Hugs,
    Claudia
  • seof
    seof Member Posts: 819 Member
    #7
    ohilly,
    I think hair and breasts are possibly the 2 most noticeable features that identify us as females, so those are 2 of the biggest things we obsess over as survivors. I think your feelings are very common and normal, if not very comfortable for you. For what it's worth, here's my experience: I finished my second round of chemo (second round of hairloss) in late Feb 2008. It is July and I have about 1/2 in all over my head. It seems about the color and texture that it was before chemo. I never lost it all, but I think I started noticing it growing about 8-10 weeks, if memory serves. Hair on legs is growing about the same rate as pre-chemo now, but it was slow to come back. Facial hair seems to be growing faster than pre-chemo...beard and mustache hair...fortunately it is a light color, but I still remove it weekly. Underarm hair is slower than pre-chemo. The area affected by radiation still has not started to grow back. Pubic hair is still thinner and shorter than before, but is slowly growing. My teenage girls have both told me I should let my hair grow long, like theirs, so they can help me style it. I might just take them up on it. I have not let my hair grow past my ears, eyebrows, or shirt collar for the past 15 years.

    Have faith and patience, you will making regular trips to the hair salon before you know it!

    seof

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