Hair Hair Hair - Another question
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Aimee Mac.. congrats!!!3jays 0 -
It has been one year today that I had my first Chemo. I ended in September 2010 so I am about 35 weeks PFC and I "celebrated" my new good health my going wigless!! It was raining out but it felt so amazing to feel the rain hit my scalp! But I was so cold without my wig! It felt really good though to take it off!
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It isn't vanity. I can be pretty without hair.
It isn't what others will think, bc I don't often take what others think personally.
It isn't fear I'll never have hair again. I know it will return.
But, it is a big deal.
It is significant.
Because every other side effect from chemo can be explained by something other than cancer treatment.
Aches and pains can be sports soreness or a fever with a normal illness.
A sore mouth can just be a burn from something hot.
Diarrhea can be GI upset.Constipation can be not eating enough fiber.
Pins and needles in my hands and feet can just be from normal restricted blood flow from my position.
Fatigue can just be about life, or a bad night's sleep.
But when my hair falls out, in strands, in clumps, in handfulls, there is no other reasonable explanation. It is the inescapable signal that I am in cancer crisis and I am poisoning my body in the name of killing cancer.
Every time I look in the mirror and see my hairless head, my missing eyebrows and eyelashes, everytime I run my hand along my body and feel no hair on my arms, everytime I don't have to shave my legs, every time my nose runs because there is no hair inside...
Everytime is a reminder that I have cancer. That I am taking in chemotherapy. That death might be a little closer than my denial would have had me believe.I know I am fighting a winning battle. I have no doubt that I will kill the monster 100%. I have no doubt this is just a new adventure, a new chapter in my biography.
But once my hair is gone there is no denying it. No way to pretend.
And this is why I, and I think most of us fighting cancer with chemotherapy, dread, fear and react with very deep emotions when we think of and face the loss of our tresses.-Twisted Steel aka Missy
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Exactly , Twistedsteel!!!
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tlundy- you are very pretty. The scarf looks really nice.
aimee- 28 years! Congrats! Have fun at the casino. I love going to casinos. My husband and I got married in Vegas and want to go back for our 10th anniversary.
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tlundy your rock in a scarf… even better than me. I bet no one even suspected you didn't have hair underneath.
NormaJean65 Thanks. My mom tells me I'm funny all the time. My husband not so much but I think he's just teasing me. I see him smirking. On the other hand he's a riot. The windy hair loss day and the bird attacking me seem to be real favorites of people here. I'm not sure I can claim being funny on those stories. They pretty much wrote themselves.
Now seeing my PS for the first time after chemo(5 months) and saying "wow you have more hair than me" was pretty funny. I don't think he was expecting that.When meeting my LE MD and telling him I want my "Hadassah wave back" or saying "stripper boobs" to my BS… yes that was fun too. It's fun to laugh as well as see others laugh.
Hope everyone is having a nice long weekend. We're still looking for the sun and warmth here in Chicago. Actually today we can't find anything. So far lots and lots of fog.
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tlundy, what a great picutre; your photograph is beautiful and what a lovely idea to celebrate Mom's day and tie it into the Royal Wedding (which was so pretty). You look really good in the scarf and very confident, too. I love to see photos posted on this forum. Thanks so much for posting yours!
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Tlundy you are pretty without hair you have an awesome face you look vibrant and beautiful. I never looked that good.
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I so enjoyed all your photo's -- stories, and support. I wish I had found this site and thread last year when my hair started to grow back after chemo. Bald, swollen and isolated by the fact that I was under the impression my hair would grow back .. quickly - NOT, evenly - NOT, -- as well as my lashes and eye brows- NOT .. Finished Tax/Carbo/Herceptin late December 2009 -- continue with herceptin until 8/2010 --
It's been a year since my hair regrowth -- after several trims, my length of hair has hit the back of my collars, my side -- oh my so long to grow is about 1 inch below my ear-lope. I colored my hair in August to add some depth .. not a henna, or natural brand -- I ended up with l "Lucy", or Bozo the clown -- red. I purchased a rich brown -- wore this hideous color for months, before my professional stylist would touch my hair!! UGH.
Fast forward .. I am happy to report 1 year later -- bozo red is gone - taking biotin orally, as well as shampooing with J/A/S/O/N .. biotin shampoo, every other shampoo. Chemo curl left me 8 months after regrowth ..
Problem I am having ...thin ... thin... think eye brows .. and eye lashes still shedding ??
Any thoughts?
Vicki Sam
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Tlundy...you are beautiful!
Missy...beautifully said!
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Thanks for all the nice compliments, ladies! My family and friends are great support systems but getting positive vibes back from my sisters puts more pep in my step (which I sorely need). I think we are all bold, beautiful and strong - hats off to us - HA!0
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Yes Lago is a riot. Laughter is our best medicine. Last evening with friends, I had a wig on but told everyone that during he day or on the boat they will have to get used to seeing me topless, looking kinda "butch" and with uneven ta ta's. Everyone commented on how well I handle it and that I can laugh at my own expense. No sense in crying over it, right? I hope if they are all true friends they will love me no matter what. My dear friend made me cry last night when he talked about his illness ( a hereditary eye disease) and he knows that within a year he will be totally blind, but he said "he was thankful to be alive" and that me and himself will get over these hurdles.0
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twistedsteel - what a great description of why the hair loss bothers us so much! I, too, have felt many times that it is the one constant reminder to me and to everyone around me that I have cancer.0
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The one thing I have learned about cancer now that I've had it and been educated is cancer is not the end. Just like heart disease is not the end. Yes it may eventually get us but until they say "get your shit in order" I'm going to live.
Before I thought cancer = death. As we can see by all the women that post here, there's a lot a life! The one thing that really got me to learn about this is meeting stag IV, metastatic diagnosed women. They are all living full lives.
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JFV: Hair Products for right after chemo hair starts to grow in: Marc Anthony Straight hair Creme (RiteAide) just finger style and go. Sally's has an Ion line of straightening shampoo, conditioner, spray, etc. As it got longer, I would blow dry it into a frizzy mess using Paul Mitchell Straight Serum, spray an anti frizz spray (Sexy Hair Straight) on it and then flat iron it with a 1" 450 degree pro iron then I would piece it out with the Marc Anthony Straight.
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NEW PRODUCT: "Organix" Brazillian Keratin "Ever Straight" 30 DAY AT HOME SMOOTHING TREATMENT: I still have chemo curls even though my last chemo was 3/1/10. Today I am trying this product which you leave in for 48 hours. You will need a professional 450 degree flat iron for it to work best. If you feel a bit challenged, get a friend to help with the back especially. It is Formaldahyde, Sulphate & Sodium Free made with cocoa nut, avocado, cocoa butter and keratin proteins. Works best with their shampoos & conditioners to get full results. I will let you know if it works! I found it at Rite Aid $14.99. Steal!
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I am at my Dad's now and think I have made a discovery....I noticed today when I was looking at the pile of hair in the sink.....it comes out on its own, but is such a mess going everywhere, that I pull as much out at I can when I brush it.....the hair that is coming out is the dark stuff....I was definitely gray but there was a lot of darker stuff underneath and now the hair I had left is totally white. I am as white as my father who of course thinks it is beautiful....he thinks everything about me is beautiful as only a father can. But don't you think that is strange? Is white hair stronger or something?
Vivkisam, My eyebrows are not what they used to be, but they are there.....as the woman at the look Good, Feel Good class put it, they have lost their tail. I think the eyelashes will pretty much return to normal after losing them, but it is not unusual for them to fall out more than once after chemo.
Tlundy, I join in with my compliments on your scarf look.....you and Lago both pull (past tense in her case)that look off exceptionally well.
NormaJean, Thank you for thinking about me
Lago, you put it all in the right perspective....cancer does not mean death and hopefully it makes all of us appreciate life much more and helps us live it to the fullest.
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MBJ thanks for the info ! Hi Ho Hi Ho to Rite Aid I will go ! With your list of produicts !
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Julie H.- The kids will be fine with your hair. I can't remember if I even mentioned this but I went topless to work when you could still see my scalp ! One little girl mentioned my hair about two weeks ago. Otherwise they haven't mentioned it for months. Trust me I looked pretty weird. So, by the time school rolls around again for you the kids won't even notice.
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Marybe you do know you were the 1st (IV/metastatic) woman I thought of when I wrote that above. You are a hell of a lot a fun and look fantastic (better than most people and I don't mean with cancer people. I mean all people)! Can't wait for you to come back and visit next year!0
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lago: That was a riot!
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way funny!!
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HAHAHAHA yep that's us, just a bunch of scared eggs!!!
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Another hair question.... I have had 2 T/C treatments with the 3rd scheduled for next Monday. When starting this I had very very thick hair which I had cut very short. Well anyway what I am trying to say is that I still have hair. Thinned out but hair. Will the falling out continue or will it soon subside?
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PSU222 I suppose there is the possibility that all your hair wont fall out. Almost all mine all came out about 18 days after my first TC treatment but I see when i look at the pictures that I did lose more gradually after that after each treatment . But I did still have a few long hairs left at my hairline, not very attractive but good under a hat. I guess what I am saying is it is possible but don;t get your hopes up.0
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Thanks for the quick reply. The hair is still coming out. I am just a little surprised that I still have this much after 5 weeks. Oh and by the way I feel like a dog with mange! It is not pretty hair anymore. I wear my wig everyday. Just so hot these days.
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I have a question for the ladies who wear wigs. I plan on wearing a wig as much as possible. It is uncomfortable, should I get something to wear underneath to prevent irritation?
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Lago- That is too funny!!
Mccrimmon- I wore my wig everywhere and i bought so many different kinds of caps to go underneath it and i didn't like any of them. They were to tight or to hot, just not comfortable. So i didn't wear anything underneath it and i didn't have any problems. I just had to wash it more because it is so hot and my bald head was the first thing to sweat.
Pam
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JFV: This is my second day with the Even Straight Keratin product on my hair. Woke up with it all curled up so I took a hot iron to it again. Tomorrow I get to bathe. Let's just say Memorial day is not going to be a group outing, lol.
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