Will i lose my hair

myscotties
myscotties Member Posts: 3
edited March 2014 in Anal Cancer #1
I have already purchased a wig and hats because i was told it most likely would. my hair is long and when i brush it more hairs seems to be coming out but nothing that is noticable. it doesn't matter to me whether i lose it or not. i just want to get well. i guess i am a little surprise my hair is still there. everyone said in 14 days i would lose it. thanks for info.

Comments

  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #2
    Hi myscotties!
    Welcome here, although I'm sorry you have to be here. As for losing hair, it really varies from person to person. I lost about half of my hair. It came out in chunks here and there. Not a good look! However, 2 years post-treatment, I have a full head of hair and it's about the same as it was before. I know this is really stressful, but you really won't know until you either start losing it or you don't. My hair started falling out on day 21. Some people don't lose any at all. I hope you are one of the fortunate ones who doesn't. However, if you notice fall out beginning, a short hair cut can make it less noticeable. I was not willing to get a wig and just wore a ball cap when I went out. However, insurance usually covers the cost of a wig, so if you lose some hair, this would be a consideration. I wish you the very best and hope you'll let us know how things go as you enter week 4.
  • sissy310
    sissy310 Member Posts: 300
    #3
    Hello - I too am sorry you
    Hello - I too am sorry you have to be here. My experience with my hair was I cut it short to start, before treatment, just in case. My hair thinned out about half so far and all over...I do have more of a receding hairline than I had before but I wear bangs and that covers that up. I wear a ball cap when I am outside now to keep the sun off my scalp. Hopefully you will be one that only has thinning hair and not a lot of hair loss. I was tempted to buy a wig and a couple of scarves but because many forum members said they had little or thinning issues and not total hair loss I opted to wait to see what happened.
  • z810840b
    z810840b Member Posts: 207 Member
    #4
    Hair
    My hair thinned a little,but i never lost it.The only one who knew was me! I also know of another anal survivor who did not loose her hair.Two years later,my hair is thicker than ever..Don't worry.
  • susan1069
    susan1069 Member Posts: 30
    #5
    Your Hair
    I started losing my hair 3 weeks to the day after the first mytomycin. It came out continuously until my hair thinned to about half as much. It started growing back about 3 months after treatment ended. Although it got really thin, I never ended up with bald spots and I was able to go without a wig. I'm about 4 months out of treatment now and it's growing quickly, but still looks quite thin. It's not noticeable to anyone but my friends and family. Everyone's different, but I don't think most of us lost all of our hair. It IS alarming when it starts coming out, however, so if it does - don't panic. You'll probably end up with thinner hair but not bald.
  • z
    z Member Posts: 1,414 Member
    #6
    myscotties
    Hi, My hair started thinning in about 3 weeks. It had been down to my middle back, and rather than have all that hair to clean up, I went and had it cut short. I had always wanted to try a short hair cut, but never thought that cancer would be the way I would have a short hair cut. I never went bald. I went back to work after 2 months, and my co workers did notice it was thinner, as I never wore a wig. Eventually, it came back as thick as ever, and at about 8 months out of treatment it was basically back to normal. Like you said I didn't care, I just wanted to be well. Lori
  • SueRelays
    SueRelays Member Posts: 485
    #7
    z said:

    myscotties
    Hi, My hair started thinning in about 3 weeks. It had been down to my middle back, and rather than have all that hair to clean up, I went and had it cut short. I had always wanted to try a short hair cut, but never thought that cancer would be the way I would have a short hair cut. I never went bald. I went back to work after 2 months, and my co workers did notice it was thinner, as I never wore a wig. Eventually, it came back as thick as ever, and at about 8 months out of treatment it was basically back to normal. Like you said I didn't care, I just wanted to be well. Lori

    I never lost my hair! As
    I never lost my hair! As soon as I was diagnosed, I started looking at wigs as well, however my oncologist told me with the chemo mix I was on, I probably wouldn't lose my hair...and I didn't :)....one bright spot in all of this. It did thin, but I had thick hair to start with, so wasn't noticeable really.

    Wish you the BEST of luck!!!
  • duckyann
    duckyann Member Posts: 159
    #8
    SueRelays said:

    I never lost my hair! As
    I never lost my hair! As soon as I was diagnosed, I started looking at wigs as well, however my oncologist told me with the chemo mix I was on, I probably wouldn't lose my hair...and I didn't :)....one bright spot in all of this. It did thin, but I had thick hair to start with, so wasn't noticeable really.

    Wish you the BEST of luck!!!

    I got my hair cut shorter
    I got my hair cut shorter (right above my shoulders) before my treatments started. My hair was down to the middle of my back too. I did not lose any of it and it did not thin out at all. I am sorry that you have to go through this but you will make it through. Take care!
  • Boobits
    Boobits Member Posts: 28
    #9
    After about 3 weeks I
    After about 3 weeks I started losing mine; the first sign was that my scalp felt tight and itched, then it started falling out in clumps. The fallout was worse than having my head shaved. Once it was gone, there was no more sweeping up hair or pulling clumps out of the shower drain. My hair was pretty fried anyway, very dry and brittle, so I didn't lose great hair. I have a wig for special occasions, but wear mostly caps or just go 'au naturel' around the house. I -think- it's starting to come back, it's maybe 1/2" in some places, a little more in others.
  • cap630
    cap630 Member Posts: 151 Member
    #10
    Lost hair
    My doctor said my hair would thin, but I lost about half of it. It continued to fall out for nearly a month after my treatment ended. I did wear a wig for about two months at work until the bald spots filled in. I had it cut short and it is coming bad thicker than before.
  • sandysp
    sandysp Member Posts: 868 Member
    #11
    hi
    I had my hair cut short the day this picture was taken. My hair also started falling out the third week. For me it was important to go so short it wouldn't be that noticeable. I had it cut really short a couple of times since the texture was so different, like I had been electrocuted, it kind of depressed me. It is a lot more "normal" now except it has more curl. I always wanted curly hair so that is kind of fun. I also died it red since it was coming in gray. I am 62 today so I guess it's time bit it felt to drab so I went for outrageous! The people closest to me hated it the most. But I kept it to see if I like it. It's faded now and time to make another color decision. Might as well have so more fun.
  • duckyann
    duckyann Member Posts: 159
    #12
    sandysp said:

    hi
    I had my hair cut short the day this picture was taken. My hair also started falling out the third week. For me it was important to go so short it wouldn't be that noticeable. I had it cut really short a couple of times since the texture was so different, like I had been electrocuted, it kind of depressed me. It is a lot more "normal" now except it has more curl. I always wanted curly hair so that is kind of fun. I also died it red since it was coming in gray. I am 62 today so I guess it's time bit it felt to drab so I went for outrageous! The people closest to me hated it the most. But I kept it to see if I like it. It's faded now and time to make another color decision. Might as well have so more fun.

    Hi Sandy

    I want to wish you a happy Birthday!!! I am guessing that it is your birthday since you said you are 62 today. I am sure you will look wonderful in any hair color that you choose. It is all in how you feel about it and not what others think!
  • mp327
    mp327 Member Posts: 4,440 Member
    #13
    sandysp said:

    hi
    I had my hair cut short the day this picture was taken. My hair also started falling out the third week. For me it was important to go so short it wouldn't be that noticeable. I had it cut really short a couple of times since the texture was so different, like I had been electrocuted, it kind of depressed me. It is a lot more "normal" now except it has more curl. I always wanted curly hair so that is kind of fun. I also died it red since it was coming in gray. I am 62 today so I guess it's time bit it felt to drab so I went for outrageous! The people closest to me hated it the most. But I kept it to see if I like it. It's faded now and time to make another color decision. Might as well have so more fun.

    Happy Birthday, Sandy!
    Sorry to be a day late in wishing you a happy birthday, but my wishes are no-less sincere! I hope you had a great day that was special just like you!
  • linadacosta39
    linadacosta39 Member Posts: 1
    #14
    Hair Restoration
    Hair transplantation is a surgical technique that involves moving skin containing hair follicles from one part of the body (the donor site) to bald or balding parts (the recipient site). It is primarily used to treat male pattern baldness, whereby grafts containing hair follicles that are genetically resistant to balding are transplanted to bald scalp. However, it is also used to restore eyelashes, eyebrows, and beard hair, and to fill in scars caused by accidents and surgery such as facelifts and previous hair transplants.
  • Angela_K
    Angela_K Member Posts: 374 Member
    #15
    I lost . . .
    about 90% of my hair and am convinced that if I hadn't started out with a super-think head full, I would have lost all of it. I lost most of it beginning the 3rd week after my first dose of chemo and saw another loss three weeks after the final week of chemo. It has come back with a vengeance. Curly, especially at the base of my neck/behind my ears. Has relaxed quite a bit over the course of a year.

    You will find that everyone's hair loss is very much an individual thing. Just like their cancers. I understand that my significant hair loss is not the norm.

    My personal choice was not to wear a wig. I would have felt ridiculous. For me, it was a very liberating, but very emotional experience. I said it really didn't matter. But it really did. And I am glad I experienced it.

Discussion Boards