Hair Hair Hair - Another question
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Luna thanks for sharing your pic, i am dealing with a crazy curly hair and i am not sure how to style it
thanks again. 0 -
everyday my hair is curlier and curlier - I sorta like it - I have had straight hair my whole life so even though its a weird style, I like having curly hair..0 -
lol i like it curly but long, i love how long curls look but this short curls are out of control lol i cant take it any longer lol
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I am just catching up, you ladies look GREAT! Thanks for sharing your beautiful and touching pictures.
I just wanted to share my experience using Latisse on my eyebrows. I started using Latisse about 4 months ago and I see a big difference. I use it about twice per week also I bought an eyeliner applicator so one drop is enough for both sides. The applicators that come with it waste a lot.
I am 2.5 years PFC and I never cut my hair (except for the bangs) so it is past my shoulders. At first, I thought the curls were growing out but I realize that the new hair has soft waves so it is official I have wavy hair. I welcome the waves, so it is good.0 -
My last chemo was Feb 01, 2013. i had 2 hair cut cuz everybody said i needed it to make it grow faster, here a picture now. I wont cut it again i want my long hair back.
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I had waist long dread locks when my cancer was found. I cut it short and then got it all shaved off. Did not want the dreads falling off in the shower. That is when I did most of my crying with my hands full of my hair in the shower. I did not do the wig thing just scarfs and hats. Winter was not fun I had to sleep in my caps to keep warm. My hair came back curley but then after my first cut the durls were all gone. I had very thick hair before and now not so I'm thinner on the top so I don't think I can do my dreads all over agian so I have one and it is getting long and knotty just wish I could have them all back. I guess when I kept the old ones I could hook them back in and really look funny.
My hair is always changing and right now I don't even need to comb it just shake it out with my fingers and go.0 -
You're gorgeous, Enerva!!
Shine On! MsP0 -
Joining IslandMom with a Latisse recommend. I used it on lashes & brows every night throughout the first 6 treatments - 4-5 months. Both lashes & brows thinned a little but I never lost either. Now that I've started new chemo treatments I'm using just on my lashes. Brows are still WAY too bushy even with the 2 month break. It's expensive, but since I rarely wear makeup I decided I could live w/o hair but not brows & lashes.
After the 2 chemo month break I have 3/4" hair on my head but that should go away again next week. Sigh. Good thing I have caps for the winter.0 -
Hi Ladies - I just started reading this thread and am sure the answer is somewhere in the 636 pages....but was hoping for some information, please. I just finished my fourth A/C last Friday (yay!) and have four (every 3 weeks) taxotere/herceptin/perjeta to go before surgery. I think some have had hair growth during the taxol chemo and I'm sure hoping that happens with me - but thought I'd see what anybody else has experienced. I know, I know - I should just be more patient.....but it would be so nice to see something other than my bald head in the mirror, I can't hope but help.
Thanks so much for any information - this website and the discussion boards have made the whole BC journey so much easier!
Saltyjack0 -
SaltyJack: We're doing just the opposite. I'm just 10 days past my first of 4 AC tx. Sorry to say that with my prior Taxotere/Carboplain/Herceptin/Perjeta for 6 tx, I lost all my hair at 16 days.
Interesting to see you're on Perjeta too. Where are you having your tx? I'm at Baylor Clinic & Methodist in the Med Center.0 -
SaltyJack, I lost my hair 3 weeks after starting my Taxotere, Herceptin and Perjeta chemos. It was the Taxotere that did it to me. (Sorry to tell you this!) I am still getting Herceptin and Perjeta every 3 weeks and my hair is growing, so they don't cause it.0 -
Thanks, Lalenlou and Minus2 - even though you said what I was afraid you'd say. I've been reading on another site about permanent hair loss from taxotere - isn't that a lovely thought? I'm trying to tell myself that worrying about it isn't going to help at all and the odds are that my hair will some day grow back...
Minus2, I was so pleased that after the FDA approved perjeta, the next appointment I had with my MO (all ready to ask if I could puh-leeze try it), she said she was already preparing the paperwork to submit to my insurance company for approval. It's now been approved but she said that the insurance companies are requiring that it be used for treatment exactly as the FDA approved it, which is every 3 weeks with docetaxol. Originally, I'd been scheduled for Taxol/herceptin weekly for 12 weeks, which she said would cause much less SE. Hopefully the 3 week treatments won't be too difficult - I still want the perjeta for sure! Anyway - I'm going to MD Anderson in the Woodlands. I live about 40 minutes west of there and was really dreading the drive to the Medical Center (which would be about a 2-hour adventure each way by the time I got parked and wherever I had to go).
I didn't have too much problem with the A/C SE - thanks to lots of prayers, support and encouragement from ladies on this discussion board, friends and family....so hopefully that will be true with the taxol also. Any advice, ladies?
Thanks so much -
SaltyJack0 -
I am happy to report that it's been 2 yrs since my last chemo and my hair is back to the length and texture it always was, maybe even a little bit shinier & healthier.
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Peache thanks for the Info, It looks great, this next Feb will be a year for me and i am counting the months to get a length that may allow me to grab a pony tail, lol It seams my hair ll be very curly so i am not sure if it ll grow faster after the first year, i am hopping
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Oh, Peachy-pie and Enerva, thank you! I'm just thrilled to see your posts....especially since you both received Taxotere, which I'll be starting in two weeks. Patience, patience, patience!0 -
I am six weeks out from AC, and my eyebrows are still thinning. I still have top lashes, but my bottom lashes were very sparse to begin with. I try, try, try not to rub my eyes. I'm afraid to use eye/eyebrow make-up, because I'm afraid I will lose even more hair trying to wash off any make-up. My hat obscures my brows anyway.
I think some of the fuzz is coming in on my head, but it is light, and I still have some dark stubble from the quarter inch buzz I got after my second chemo dose. I'm most anxious for it to grow.
Unfortunately, unwanted hairs are making a vicious comeback! I stopped AC one dose short, and the only area that had total loss was my armpits. Still no hair there, but it seems unfair that I'm losing eyebrows while gaining chin hairs!
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saltyjack, where did you hear bout the permanent hair loss from taxotere? I keep thinking it was the taxotere that did me in.
My hair hasn't been growing back very well at all. It's been 9 months Pfc and my hair is still thin and sparse. I've started biotin and I think it has helped but it is still very thin. Everyone keeps telling me that it will take time but it's so hard when my fellow bc friends who started tx at same time as me are sporting a lot more hair and don't have that cancer look anymore. And to top it off it seems like I'm shedding more hair. Not sure if it's the weather but it sure is frustrating losing what little hair I already have. Just hoping everyone is right about giving it more time.0 -
Mely, here's the site I found when I searched "how long after chemo does your hair grow back" (I know, pretty clever of me - I'm so technologically advanced!)
http://www.healthcentral.com/breast-cancer/c/question/14180/52827
also on wikipedia (where it says permanent hair loss could be as high as 6.3% - ouch! I don't know if that means total or just thin (several ladies complained about "male pattern baldness" effects):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxotere
A couple of the ladies on the other thread said that they would have discussed options with their MO if they'd known and I'm going to ask my MO - but since my next treatments are taxotere, herceptin and perjeta (which I really want and she's already said that this is the only protocol the insurance companies will approve at this point), I'm going to go ahead because I really want the perjeta.
I'm trying not to worry - which of course will do nothing productive or beneficial. God has been with me every step of the BC journey so far so I'm going to trust that He'll be right there beside me, whatever happens!0 -
wow this is news to me, taxotere did a # on me and to read that it could also affect the hair permanent, it is so not fair, I wish no one had to take such a drug, i hate it i will always regret taking it
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Wow, enerva - why do you regret taking taxotere? I'm scheduled for 4 doses every 3 weeks starting November 22 - help?! Thanks very much -0 -
I was scheduled for 4 sessions of chemo, and I only went through 3 because either the Cytoxan or the Taxotere caused my heart to beat irregularly and caused me to have terrible anxiety attacks. But other than that I had no issues with either drug. I was told that it takes 1 year for your body to get rid of the chemo. And that the chemicals just like any other drug are in your hair shafts. This is what causes your hair to be curly, coarse and frizzy when it first grows out. My hair came back all gray and I had it colored when it got long enough to dye it. It grew very slowly for a while, but after about 4 cuts, I seemed to have my old hair back. And once that happened, it started growing fast and it got thick again just like it used to be. There were times when I thought my hair would never grow back, then there were patches on my head that were thinner than the rest of my head. But eventually it all went back to normal, and it now seems so long ago that I was worrying about it. Unfortunately it requires a lot of patience, and I am not a patient person, so it was really hard for me some days. But it happens, and before you know it your life is back on track and all of this will be behind you.
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I never posted this bald photo of me before
These are some of the Phases I went through with my hair. I always took photos and kept them in a file called Phases. I also kept a journal of my daily experience with battling cancer. It helped me a lot, and now I go back and read some of the tough days I went through and I am proud of myself for being strong and getting through it.
Hope these photos can help some of you out there, I know it's not easy to get through. Our hair is so important to us. I think losing my hair was the worst part of the whole thing.0 -
Oh please forgive me i didnt mean ti scare any of you. I had a hard time with Taxotere i think i was given strong doses and even though i complained my doctor only lower a little at the last one. I had terrible SE still have numb feet and i just found out results for a test that basically tell me i may never become a mon. Every body is different it may not affect you guys the way it affected me. i am just frustrated with my own SE. Pls forgive me . just tell your onco if you see that the SE are too much and they maybe able to lower Doses, i got my hair back though i have other issues.
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Oh, Peachy-pie - I love the photos and they really help alot. Unfortunately, at this point, all I'd have is the bald one.....but I can hope the others will be here before I know it (well, maybe not that soon, but eventually!).
I've had a pretty easy time with A/C and most everybody says that Taxotere isn't as bad - I'm glad to hear that you didn't have alot of problems with it. You'll be my inspiration!
Enerva, please don't apologize - I appreciate your input and information. The more any of us know at each step of this, the better. It's good to remember that I need to be a part of the treatment plan and decision - and work with the MO to figure out dosage, etc.
thanks very much to both of you!0 -
thanks for the link salty jack. I think I am experiencing that same problems as those on the health central one. My sides and back don't look too bad but the top of my head and crown is very thin similar to the male pattern baldness. It has been driving me crazy to see my hair like this so far out of chemo.
Everyone reacts differently to the drugs and you may be just fine. There seems to be plenty of people here who have had the taxotere and had hair grow back okay. I had a problem with the taxotere from the first dose so much so that they had to lower the dosages for the rest. My onc said most do okay on it. I chose it vs taxol because it had less likelihood of permanent neuropathy. Kind of a lose/lose situation though isn't it. Had I known bout the permanent hair loss I may have had to think even harder bout my decision but would have probably made the same choice bc I don't have any neuropathy now but I know others who had the taxol who do. I'm still hoping my hair grows in some. I'll probably panic more past the 1 year mark if it still looks like this.
Peachy pie - thanks for the pictures and the encouragements. I will try to still be patient but I think inside I will still be secretly worried.0 -
Hi all,
Here is a link from the first page of this thread. I've referred to it often! I think the photos are taken a week apart and must of been started a few weeks after the end of chemo (6 weeks maybe?) when hair growth begins.
http://www.karinstack.com/images/hair/HS_grid.jpg
I had Taxotere and didn't have any growth for 8 weeks after chemo. Now at almost 12 weeks I have a thin covering of dark hair all over. Yea! Hoping it grows faster now!
Annie0 -
I haven't posted in a while. Just thought I would repost my hair transition link for you all. Do note that I did keep cutting my hair. I decided to keep it short. The dates are at the bottom left. It starts on the right with a photo of me a week before surgery. Next photo is a couple of days after my hair started to fall out (and I got it thinned an cut short). Next photo you can see how my hair is thinning on chemo and just looks unhealthy. Then me in a wig. Then me in a scarf. All the other pictures are of hair growth up till Aug 2013.
I found my hair texture started to get normal after a year. It also grew back with more grey and almost black. I have dark brown not black hair. Even my eyebrows grew in that dark color but eventually returned.0 -
Annie, thanks for the link - that's really helpful.
Lago, I love the pictures - best of all, you're smiling in them all - a true survivor!
A friend from another thread has already started growing "whiskers" - less than 2 weeks after finishing chemo so I've been checking every morning and getting discouraged. Of course, since I still have taxotere to go, it's really silly to even be worrying about hair growth at this point. It sounds like I'll be wearing my wig till at least February..... but since I'm a planner, at least you've all helped me to know a little more what to expect. I know you're right, too, Mely - each of us is a little different as to how we'll react. Doesn't that make the whole BC journey even more exhilarating?! Yippee!0 -
Hello, ladies!
I hope you are doing fine!
New here, I wanted to ask a question: I'm still in the middle of chemo so I don't know if it's time for me to comment here. But I have a question.
At end of round 1 my hair thinned out and yesterday I had round 2 so I should go ancient Egyptian style this week or next or befor round 3. I cut my hair short, Louise Brooks-style. I was adviced to buzz it or even shave it. But when it started to come out, I found that it was easier to clean up the hair then looking for tiny stubble, so I left it as it is.
Now to my question - sorry if it sounds silly, but I wonder: will there be any problems for the regrowth if I don't shave it?
Thank you for your kind replies and all the best wishes to you!
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stellina I never shaved or buzzed mine just cut it short like you. Thing is if you are planning on getting a wig don't buy it till your hair has really thinned out unless you already have thin hair. I have a thick head of hair. Even though the lady thinned my hair a lot to fit the wig by the time most of my hair fell out the wig was way too big. I ended up wearing scarves except for one weekend. I hated my wig0
