TC and hair loss....

Help4Sis
Help4Sis Member Posts: 53
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Can you tell me when you lost your hair? I've read 14 - 16 days after first treatment? THanks!

Comments

  • heidijez
    heidijez Member Posts: 441
    #2
    my first course of chemo was t/c. . .
    and my hair started falling out around day 9, by day 13, about 2/3 of my hair was gone so i shaved my head.

    p.s. i had long (halfway down my back) hair and i was really freaked about losing it, but once it happened i was okay with it. for me, anticipation is more difficult than the actual event.
  • Help4Sis
    Help4Sis Member Posts: 53
    #3
    heidijez said:

    my first course of chemo was t/c. . .
    and my hair started falling out around day 9, by day 13, about 2/3 of my hair was gone so i shaved my head.

    p.s. i had long (halfway down my back) hair and i was really freaked about losing it, but once it happened i was okay with it. for me, anticipation is more difficult than the actual event.

    She has prepared... cut her
    She has prepared... cut her hair some and bought two wigs... Her hair is kind of thin... has been having 'tingling' feelings in her scalp for a few days already.
  • Heatherbelle
    Heatherbelle Member Posts: 1,226 Member
    #4
    Hi - I had AC and my hair
    Hi - I had AC and my hair started falling out around day 15 or so. Thinned out for about a week before I had my husband shave my head. I also had really long hair & cut it to just above my shoulders when I was diagnosed, then right before my mastectomy I got it cut again, really short to my head except for long bangs, and when chemo started I had it cut extremely short (like Mia Farrow in rosemary's baby). It really helped me to cope with the hair loss to take control & make the changes myself, rather than just letting cancer take it from me. I actually didn't lose all of my hair, I've had stubbles on my head throughout chemo. I had my last round of Taxotere on Thursday & am wondering if that's going to be what takes my stubbles & my eyebrows! Eyelashes are pretty much gone, I'd say more than half of them are gone, brows thinned out but still look good, i just fill the empty spots in with liner. I never did, however, lose all my leg hair though & still have to shave a few times a week!!Best of luck to your sister & she is lucky to have you there for her :)
    *hugs*
    Heather
  • Help4Sis
    Help4Sis Member Posts: 53
    #5
    Heatherbelle said:

    Hi - I had AC and my hair
    Hi - I had AC and my hair started falling out around day 15 or so. Thinned out for about a week before I had my husband shave my head. I also had really long hair & cut it to just above my shoulders when I was diagnosed, then right before my mastectomy I got it cut again, really short to my head except for long bangs, and when chemo started I had it cut extremely short (like Mia Farrow in rosemary's baby). It really helped me to cope with the hair loss to take control & make the changes myself, rather than just letting cancer take it from me. I actually didn't lose all of my hair, I've had stubbles on my head throughout chemo. I had my last round of Taxotere on Thursday & am wondering if that's going to be what takes my stubbles & my eyebrows! Eyelashes are pretty much gone, I'd say more than half of them are gone, brows thinned out but still look good, i just fill the empty spots in with liner. I never did, however, lose all my leg hair though & still have to shave a few times a week!!Best of luck to your sister & she is lucky to have you there for her :)
    *hugs*
    Heather

    Just wanted you to know
    That I thought you looked awesome with pink bangs and when I joined this board, something about your pink bangs and big smile drew me instantly to you! What a kick in the pants to lose the hair on your head, but not your legs!!! haha...

    I'm so glad for you that your are done with your chemo. My sister will make it through all this okay - she is very strong. She is the second of my three sisters to get bc. The oldest of us four is a 10-year survivor this year. Interestingly, neither of them tested positive for the braca 1 or 2 genes....
  • Gabe N Abby Mom
    Gabe N Abby Mom Member Posts: 2,413
    #6
    Mine started at two weeks,
    Mine started at two weeks, day 15. The tingling itchy scalp was the beginning for me. Then within 3 days I lost so much I shaved my head. Like Heatherbelle, I got 3 haircuts between dx and shaving my head. I agree that it made the process seem easier, let me feel more in control.

    I've had 3 treatments of TAC so far. Still have a little leg hair, eyelashes are very thin, and I still have most of my eyebrows, and have a little stubble all over my head. I find hats and scarfs more comfortable than wigs, but wear both depending on the situation. At home, I go topless.

    But I keep reminding myself that this is what it takes to get rid of the cancer. It's just a part of the journey I'm on.

    Your sister is lucky to have your support. Post often, we all get support from hearing each other's stories.

    Hugs to both of you,

    Linda
  • TraciInLA
    TraciInLA Member Posts: 1,994 Member
    #7
    Gabe N Abby Mom said:

    Mine started at two weeks,
    Mine started at two weeks, day 15. The tingling itchy scalp was the beginning for me. Then within 3 days I lost so much I shaved my head. Like Heatherbelle, I got 3 haircuts between dx and shaving my head. I agree that it made the process seem easier, let me feel more in control.

    I've had 3 treatments of TAC so far. Still have a little leg hair, eyelashes are very thin, and I still have most of my eyebrows, and have a little stubble all over my head. I find hats and scarfs more comfortable than wigs, but wear both depending on the situation. At home, I go topless.

    But I keep reminding myself that this is what it takes to get rid of the cancer. It's just a part of the journey I'm on.

    Your sister is lucky to have your support. Post often, we all get support from hearing each other's stories.

    Hugs to both of you,

    Linda

    Depends on which hair you're talking about...:-)
    I did 4 rounds of TC last year. I actually started to lose my hair in the "southern region" first, on Day 13 -- for some reason, I thought that was really funny.

    I was really losing hair from my head by Day 16, and we had to buzz it down as low as we could with the clippers on Day 17, because I couldn't keep hair out of my food when I was eating, and was trailing it behind me through the office -- even though I cut my hair very short before starting chemo.

    I also never lost the hair on my legs -- it grew much more slowly during chemo, but still -- it's bad enough I get cancer, but then I still have to shave my legs?!?

    :-) Traci
  • webbwife50
    webbwife50 Member Posts: 394
    #8
    hair
    I too decided I'd take control and shaved my head before it fell out on its own, as for the rest of my hair, I think around 19 day is when I started to notice thinning. By the middle of the second month I lost all, and I do mean ALL, my body hair. But no big deal, it has all grown back except for my upper eye lashes. They grow in and then fall out. My onc tell me that it's not an uncommon thing. My sis was THERE for me during my treatment, she is my bestest friend. She took my daughter to live with her when I was at my worst and we didn't want her to loose momentum academically, I love love my sis. Hugs to you both...alison
  • dee1962
    dee1962 Member Posts: 99
    #9
    todays my 16 th day and
    todays my 16 th day and still have all my hair everywhere...lol
  • tommaseena
    tommaseena Member Posts: 1,769
    #10
    dee1962 said:

    todays my 16 th day and
    todays my 16 th day and still have all my hair everywhere...lol

    mine
    Mine was day 13 or so on my head southern places before that. Shaved head on day 14 or 15 and had cut my hair short before chemo knowing that it was going to come out.

    My head was only bald for three months so I might have been one on the lucky ones.
    March-June '09. I have had 6 hair cuts since then--not just trims.

    I loved my hair more when it was just growing in then I do now --natural frosting is what most people said. But I have hair again--it is much darker now then when it was when it was first growing in.

    Margo
  • cindycflynn
    cindycflynn Member Posts: 1,132 Member
    #11
    14 Days
    For me.

    My first chemo was December 17th, and by New Year's Eve it was falling out in handfuls and also starting to hurt. Like others, I had cut it short prior to chemo so that it wouldn't be as traumatic.

    We were on a camping trip in the desert for New Years, so my hubby buzzed it for me on New Year's Day. I also lost most of my hair everywhere else too, but it has ALL grown back now.

    I just had my first trim about a month ago.
  • pscheer
    pscheer Member Posts: 56 Member
    #12
    2 and a half weeks after
    2 and a half weeks after first chemo. lost it in shower while shampooing. got out of shower called hairdresser and she buzzed the rest for me right away. went to her with shamppoo still on my head. i had short short hair to begin with, but it was really thick. never lost eyelashes. used to only wear post earrings, changed to medium size hoop earrings to compensate for no hair.
  • Help4Sis
    Help4Sis Member Posts: 53
    #13
    pscheer said:

    2 and a half weeks after
    2 and a half weeks after first chemo. lost it in shower while shampooing. got out of shower called hairdresser and she buzzed the rest for me right away. went to her with shamppoo still on my head. i had short short hair to begin with, but it was really thick. never lost eyelashes. used to only wear post earrings, changed to medium size hoop earrings to compensate for no hair.

    Thanks for all the replies!
    Thanks for all the replies! pscheer, I like the idea of bigger earrings to compensate for no hair!
  • beetle25
    beetle25 Member Posts: 150 Member
    #14
    Help4Sis said:

    Thanks for all the replies!
    Thanks for all the replies! pscheer, I like the idea of bigger earrings to compensate for no hair!

    Lost my hair about 12 days
    Lost my hair about 12 days after my first chemo while I was in the hospital. Didn't have a trash can by my bed so I kept dropping it on the floor which drove the cleaning lady nuts. She can in before I got out of bed and put it in the trash.
  • Help4Sis
    Help4Sis Member Posts: 53
    #15
    beetle25 said:

    Lost my hair about 12 days
    Lost my hair about 12 days after my first chemo while I was in the hospital. Didn't have a trash can by my bed so I kept dropping it on the floor which drove the cleaning lady nuts. She can in before I got out of bed and put it in the trash.

    Oh dear.

    Oh dear.
  • Help4Sis
    Help4Sis Member Posts: 53
    #16
    beetle25 said:

    Lost my hair about 12 days
    Lost my hair about 12 days after my first chemo while I was in the hospital. Didn't have a trash can by my bed so I kept dropping it on the floor which drove the cleaning lady nuts. She can in before I got out of bed and put it in the trash.

    Day 14................ right
    Day 14................ right on schedule.
  • JustRenay
    JustRenay Member Posts: 54
    #17
    That was the timeline for me
    Mind started thinning right away, and I cut it short, then it was falling out so much, my mom and daughter just shaved it for me, and I went scarf shopping...for me...it was less traumatic to take control of "when". I tried wigs for about a week, and was just too hot...from the chemo drugs...and said "forget it", told all my coworkers what was going on and bought some really cute, big earrings...and tho it was tough the first few days, I was so much more comfy. I hope you do ok, and know that we all can be supportive, as this was the toughest part for me...I think even more than my mastectomy...but right after the chemo stops...it grows back quickly...so hang in there :)
  • JustRenay
    JustRenay Member Posts: 54
    #18
    JustRenay said:

    That was the timeline for me
    Mind started thinning right away, and I cut it short, then it was falling out so much, my mom and daughter just shaved it for me, and I went scarf shopping...for me...it was less traumatic to take control of "when". I tried wigs for about a week, and was just too hot...from the chemo drugs...and said "forget it", told all my coworkers what was going on and bought some really cute, big earrings...and tho it was tough the first few days, I was so much more comfy. I hope you do ok, and know that we all can be supportive, as this was the toughest part for me...I think even more than my mastectomy...but right after the chemo stops...it grows back quickly...so hang in there :)

    BTW
    This pic of me is about 4 years out, so eventually...it gets right back to normal!!!
  • Help4Sis
    Help4Sis Member Posts: 53
    #19
    JustRenay said:

    BTW
    This pic of me is about 4 years out, so eventually...it gets right back to normal!!!

    Beautiful
    You have beautiful hair!
  • smalldoggroomer
    smalldoggroomer Member Posts: 1,184
    #20
    I lost mine on day 14 after
    I lost mine on day 14 after the first chemo, in wal-mart I was stuffing hair in my pockets while talking on the phone with my husband and looking at hinges ha ha ha ha. Oh well it's just hair it'll be back. I know one thing I will never complain about my hair again LOL....Take care Kay
  • cahjah75
    cahjah75 Member Posts: 2,631
    #21
    I lost
    my hair day 14 after 1st TC treatment. The following day I had my hairdresser do a buzz cut. I've had 4 treatments and right now I have some bald spots and where it was buzzed is 1/4 inch white hair! Yikes! I had colored my hair for more than 20 years.
    {{hugs}} Char

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