Hair Hair Hair - Another question
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Has anyone had their medical professional say that Herceptin (only) does interfere with hair regrowth? I've read some on that, seems hard to say but the most specific things I could find suggest that it really shouldn't have an effect because what Herceptin is targeting doesn't pertain to hair-related cells.
I'm just frustrated lol as my hair is taking a very long time to do much, or it feels that way to me. I'm not close to Diana's growth for example, three months out from last TCHP treatment and now doing Herceptin only plus Arimidex. At the rate it's going, could see myself getting to that point maybe in a month or so. Impatient!
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I take a picture once a week and compare. Side burns are growing too. I always got these dam chin hairs I hatedand plucked but when I got one the other day I was excited 😊 How are lives have changed
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I hope others will post pictures it is encouraging. We don't judge. We are all on the bald boat to
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Dianarose--your hair looks exactly like mine. I mean exact. I'm trying to get up the nerve to post some photos.
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Almost 11 months pfc. Went outside without a hat for the very first time this weekend. I am starting to see a (very) little bit of the old me when I look in the mirror.
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Wow Serenity, you have a lot of hair for 7 months pfc! Looks great
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dianarose- beautiful! Sorry you have to lose it again😘😢
I have not heard of a good scalp wash. Hopefully someone will know.
My hair is falling out finished third round Taxol and herceptin weekly. I cut shorter but hate it ... too puffy! Should I just shave to 2" and let it fall out ? I heard it might not all fall out but I feel you have to shave to have it grow evenly. What do you all think?
Thank you
Daniella
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Seq24- mine started growing back towards the end of Taxol. I have done 4 weekly low dose A/C the past month and so surprised it all hasn't fallen out again. Hoping I don't have to do another round this week. Praying my dam platelets went up into the normal range so I can start Ibrance. Tired of infusions.
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Akioli- your hair looks great! Looks very thick and healthy
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Dianarose...don't worry about your bangs. They are the slowest to show up. I'm ten months from pfc and still no bangs . Good news is that I just turned 77. I have a few wrinkles but not one gray hair. Shows you have to be thankful for small favors‼️
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Well, you've all convinced me. I'm trying to be brave by posting these. Here are some photos of my awful looking hair starting at 1 week PFC. Its so hard for me because I feel absolutely great, but I still look like a cancer patient. We want to go on vacation in the worst way this summer but I absolutely will not deal with a wig on a sunny beach and won't be caught dead without it. All this grey and bare scalp are killing me! The light isn't real great in some of these and what looks brown is actually mostly all grey. I hope these photos don't cause anyone to have nightmares!
1 week PFC
2 weeks PFC
3 weeks PFC
4 weeks PFC
5 weeks PFC
6 weeks PFC
7 weeks PFC
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Cathytoo- you look absolutely beautiful 💕. Your hair looks thick and healthy and no gray 👍.
Seq24- you hair is coming in nice. So long in some spots. We should post pictures again in two weeks to see the difference. I try not to look each day as it seems like it always looks the same. You are looking beautiful my friend
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Cathytoo- You look amazing! I can't believe you are 77!!! Beautiful!
Seq24- I understand that not wanting to look like the cancer patient. I know it's hard but focus on the fact you are in the other side of it and you are moving forward! Your pictures are not scary at all. I looked at them as an inspiration to me waiting to get to your place for me! It looks great like it is coming in nicely!😘
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Thanks everyone. One thing I forgot to mention is that I did not shave my head at the beginning of chemo. I just couldn't do it. And I did not lose all my hair on chemo either so the longer stuff you see is probably my old hair, as is the hair on the back of my head just above my neckline. I don't know if the old hair will ever even grow.
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Myleftboob- The Canadian Cancer Society does offer a free wig program. I got one last fall when my hair fell out. It's synthetic but they did have some made of real hair.
Gail
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seq24 - You have way more hair than I do and much darker. Mine is white and kinky! Of course, I am still going thru chemo....
Gail
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seq24, looks like you are making considerable progress over time although I'm sure it feels slow. I've had the same concern on vacation. I was keen for a while to take a trip to warm weather but abandoned the idea after thinking more about whether I would really enjoy it. The hair was one issue, and how debilitated I was after four months of chemo (weak, short of break, continued neuropathy in my feet).
I'm afraid 12 weeks out from major chemo, I've only progressed to where you were hair-wise in your week 1 or 2 pics! Which for me, is actually progress. So we're all on different paths, it seems.
I had mine shaved back in September but there were some random pieces that kept growing and now are weird and white and an inch or so sticking up randomly. The rest runs from very very short to maybe a 1/3" at best. And very thin - slowly slowly slowly improving in that respect so far.
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seq24 - we're in the same boat. I'm also about 7 wks PFC. I shaved my head in Oct after my second TCHP, so Mine is not as long as yours in the back& sides. But the top especially, is the same. Same color too. I haven't gotten the courage up to take a photo of myself yet. Very brave of you to share with us. Made me feel more like I'm at normal pace.
Thanks to all who have shared pics! Gives us all hope
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What I have of my hair is actually mostly a white/grey fuzz ball. It doesn't look like it in the photos, but the top and sides for sure. the back is darker but at this point I'm not too hopeful that the rest will change to that color. I have an appointment next week to have it colored. That will take care of the grey. I don't know if anything will take care of making it thicker. I use Nioxin products and take a hair, skin and nail supplement with biotin. Not sure what else I can do. I'm so sorry there are so many of us in the same boat here. We go through all of this to get rid of the cancer and the best reward would be if we got to keep our hair.
Hopefulyogi--I just wonder if we'll ever get our color back. My hair is about an inch long on the crown of my head (it sticks straight up and is starting to look like a troll) as well as the right side and the lower back. The rest varies from still bald to a half inch or so. Very depressing.
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The hair on top is slower to grow back. My hairdresser said the hair on the back of the head is always faster to grow back.
My MO at City of Hope also told me to wait until I finished radiation to take Biotin and other supplements. Serenity and Akiolo, your hair pics are beautiful! Thanks for sharing them.
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The back is thicker but didn't completely lose all the hair in the back., I hope my nose 👃 hairs come back soon. Tired of a runny nose.
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Danix
Herceptin can slow down the hair growth progress a bit. I had a year of it 4 years ago but once I was done it really took off. When I was doing chemo last summer I decided not to shave my head because I was curious how long I could hang on to it. It really hung in there I have to say but once I was done in October, it started coming out alot. I looked pretty haggish. Some long, some just growing back. I cut the long strands myself and was getting good growth over the next 6 weeks all over. Alas I had to do brain rads and once that was done in only 2 weeks, the rest went. I was told to expect at least 3 months to expect anything IF at all. So actually Thursday is exactly 3 months so at least something's coming in now.
Bravepoint. That's great news on the wigs. I'll call for sure. Nylon works for me. I'd like a shorter one actually.
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Akioli - Thanks for posting your pic! I was thinking of buzzing the back, but I really do want to grow my hair out. I think a haircut like yours will be better.
Dara - The back of my hair grows so much faster than the rest of my hair. Had no idea before.
If anyone is interested, my really bald pics are on page 804 of this thread. Around 4 wks PFC I buzzed (#1) what little hair I had after chemo. I felt better not having straggly hairs here and there.
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seq24 and others wanting to go to the beach, lake, pool post chemo, but before you have real hair- I say go! Don't let this disease take away any more of your time than it must. Speedo and Arena both make Lycra swim caps that stay on pretty darn well. Even on super slick head. Lycra caps are generally more comfortable than silicon ones. I did that last summer when I took my daughter and granddaughters to the beach for a week when I was about 10 weeks PFC. I maybe had a 5:00 shadow at the time. I hadn't even reached the baby owl stage yet. While I didn't really love the cap look, I did really enjoy the beach time. Anyone else can't who didn't like the look had three other directions in which they could stare ...
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Serenity, I also want (need) my hair long as soon as possible. Now 11 months pfc and only went to the hairdresser twice. I have quite some hair tucked behind my ears but it just looks weird now if I let it loose. But I hope in a couple of months when the top hair catches up, I'll be able to use those hiars too
) 
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better picture of the side . So hate the color as I am a redhead. Will be fixing that when it is longer0 -
Akioli - You're getting there! I have to tuck my hair behind my ears, too. The bottom hairs are barely long enough to cover my ears.
Diana -
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Does anyone have any eyebrows or lashes coming back? I still look like Yoda. My eye doctor prescribed Latisse but I haven't started it yet
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My lashes came back very quickly but eyebrows are still only about 50%. My hair is doing a bit better with filling inane getting a bit darker. I"m finding the ends have way more gray than the roots, weird.
I'm now 5 month PFC so here is my update. Still won't even go out in the yard yet without a wig. One of my problems is that the hair sticks straight up and in all directions. I hope when it grows longer it will behave a bit better!
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Dara--I feel your pain! I'm the same way, but gosh look at all that dark beautiful hair you have! You look great! Mine is growing but not filling in much and still very grey. So depressing. the top sticks straight up. I look like a troll. The sides and back are flat against my head. I am getting my hair colored next week. And my hair dresser says I need a haircut. Not sure where that is coming from because there is barely any there to cut. My brows are back except for a couple thin spots that have yet to fill in. I was afraid brows would come back grey too but they are darker than before and they grew in really wide. I was looking like a cave man. I had to take the tweezers to them the other day. Upper lashes are back too but not real long yet. They are long enough for mascara and I was pretty excited to put some on the other day. Got it out of the drawer only to find it had sat for so long it was dried up. Lower lashes are barely visible. Tomorrow will be 8 weeks pfc for me and only one more week of radiation to go!
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