If you ONLY received 12 week taxol did you lose your hair?
Good morning,
My oncologist said I’d have hair thinning but the nurse said I’d likely lose my hair.
Wondering if you only received taxol over 12 weeks (no dose dense or AC first) if you still lost your hair? If so, what week? I tried looking in the weekly taxol group but it’s so many post to weed through.
Thank you!
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I lost 80-90% of my hair starting after 2-3 weeks on Taxol. It actually started growing back towards the end of treatment.
Unfortunately, it’s starting to fall out again now that I’m 2 weeks into AC.
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Thanks TXLorelei. I wonder why it starts growing back near the end?
Sorry to hear your hairs falling out again. Good luck with the rest of treatment.
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Yes, you will lose most if not all of your hair. The good news is that it will most likely start growing back before you are finished treatment and you may have a fuzzy scalp which may be quite curly. I would strongly suggest that you get a very short cut as you begin treatment so you don’t have hair all over your pillow or in the shower. Some people have had success by using a cold cap to prevent or reduce hair loss. Perhaps they will join this thread and share their experiences. I only iced hands and feet to help reduce neuropathy. Icing may actually prevent neuropathy for some.
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Yes, you will lose most if not all of your hair. The good news is that it will most likely start growing back before you are finished treatment and you may have a fuzzy scalp which may be quite curly. I would strongly suggest that you get a very short cut as you begin treatment so you don’t have hair all over your pillow or in the shower. Some people have had success by using a cold cap to prevent or reduce hair loss. Perhaps they will join this thread and share their experiences. I only iced hands and feet to help reduce neuropathy. Icing may actually prevent neuropathy for some.
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Yep, I absolutely did. 3 days after first treatment it all fell out. I’m headed for more due to a chest wall recurrence. Being bald isn’t so bad. We’re alive
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Thanks Teedoff and Messenger77.
I did buy ice packs to ice for neuropathy. I’m not overly attached to my hair. I cut it down pretty short right now and have planned to shave it tentatively after my third round. I’m a planner- I love to know what I’m in for. Cancer doesn’t care how much I like to plan 😑. Lol.
Thanks again for sharing your experiences. I appreciate it
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oh me too! I had so many plans. I did not plan this! (Lol). At least we can hold each other up.
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I was wondering about hair loss on Taxol too. I only lost part of my hair on AC (bald spot with lots of thinning, but the hair still peeks out from under the hats I wear. It's too funky looking to not wear hats, but I'm definitely not bald. Wondering if Taxol might finish it off, or if because I didn't lose it on AC it might stay.
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For anyone else who is curious I thought I’d keep this bumped how my hair loss goes on 12 weeks taxol plus every three weeks Herceptin. Maybe someone else will find it helpful!
Had second treatment on Wed- my scalp was itchy last week and a bit tingly. It’s 8 days post first treatment and 2nd day post second treatment- no noticeable hair loss (it is short already). I check my pillow case occ and it seems normal. Tingling and itchy were only a few days- seems fine today. I’m doing nothing special. I use Deva Curl shampoo - I normally have kept my hair medium length and it has a fair amount of curl. I’ll try to update about once a week maybe if I can. Lol.
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I also found this article:
https://www.annalsofoncology.org/article/S0923-7534(20)34802-X/fulltext#relatedArticles
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I didn’t start shedding any hair until a night before Infusion 5 of 12 - just a little so far.
I’m on weekly Taxol and weekly Herceptin.
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Thanks smoothoperator. Your a few weeks ahead of me. If you feel up to it, please keep me (the chat) updated!
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1982m
two days out from cycle 6. More hair is shedding when I brush/comb now, but it’s not thinner enough to where I can see my scalp yet. It feels thinner and dryer than 6 weeks ago. Maybe 10-15% gone so far - evenly distributed.
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Thanks SmoothOperator!
I haven’t noticed hair loss except my nostrils. Everywhere else seems normal! Still shaving even.
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Had my third cycle yesterday. Noticed today a fair amount of hair is falling out both randomly, but a fair bit when I run my hands through my hair. My hairs pretty short right now. I still have lots of coverage through out, but I can see it thinning a fair bit in the next few weeks.
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Heya 1982M, I'm glad your hair is hanging in there, and hope it stays that way.
I wanted to say thanks for that article on hair loss and taxol. There was a man on Wed in the infusion chair across from me, and his wife was saying he was going to be devastated by the loss of his hair. He was also undergoing taxol treatment for a different cancer (and did indeed have beautiful hair). Anyway, I remembered your article and shared it with the couple, along with some neuropathy articles. They were really appreciative, but the credit goes to you, so thank you. Hope you're doing well.
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I'm glad it could help!
I think I'm going to shave my head this weekend. It really is shedding and I'm finding it difficult to cope seeing all my hair shedding. I don't know exactly what I expected but it feels very sudden. I think I thought it wouldn’t be as much hair all at once. I still have lots of hair on my head…. But also lost it hair in the sink, floor, pillow case…. ugh.
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I totally understand the urge to shave, 1982M. It’s also striking how different our reactions are
My hair is still holding on six weeks in, but it was shedding more this week, especially a few days ago. It’s notably thinner but not enough to see my scalp yet. I’m holding off on shaving until there is more gone.
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I haven’t shaved it yet. I’m super tempted since I can’t vacuum bc I had my port inserted with chemo. My oldest isn’t home and I think I’ll make it fun for them if they want to style and cut it first. Maybe Monday or next Friday. I also started wearing my chemo cap to get myself and my younger kids use to it. Trying to ease them into the baldness a bit.
I actually have pretty thick hair but it’s shedding so hard I have thinning around my part and in the very front from just the last two days. I definitely thought it would be a gentler shed.
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it’s seven weeks for me since the first Taxol/Herceptin infusion and I think I’ve finally gotten to the point where it’s thinned enough to want to shave it. I’ve probably lost 35-40% of it and mostly in the last 10 days. I’ll probably have it shaved in a few days.
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I am days past cycle 7 of weekly Taxol and I somehow still have 70% or so of my hair.
My left hand neuropathy was worse this week - muscle cramping type pain. I think a dose reduction is in my future. Even the ice didn’t keep it away.
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Lost my hair after the third or fourth treatment. It was cut into a pixie, and now I look a bit like Gollum, with patchy strands over a bald scalp. I did not shave, but I may do a buzz cut with the clippers. Saw in a YouTube video that shaving is not a good idea, since the new growth is weak and may not penetrate the skin, leading to ingrown hairs, which can be painful and get infected.
I did buy a wig, but it looks ridiculous. I look more normal in a beanie hat, I think.
Edit: Lost all my eyebrows and lashes, too, and most of my body hair. At the 12 week mark, currently.
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Thanks SmoothOperator and NineTwelve!
Sorry to hear about your neuropathy SmoothOperator. I'm really only doing a good job of icing my feet so far due to being alone and high of Benadryl and weirdly that's the only part of me that's experienced any neuropathy.
I'm day 4 after cycle 4. I appreciate the advice to buzz and not shave. I have a pretty short hair cut right now but I'd say about 40%-50% of my hair fell out? It's really evenly distributed right now. My head did hurt this am quite a bit- like pony tail was in all night (but obviously not since my hair is really short).
Everyday I wake up and think I'll shave it (well… buzz it) but then I look in the mirror and see how much hair I have left and decide not too. I have to go into work Mon and it would be nice just to have hair still… I bought a wig that looks nothing like my real hair, which prob was a mistake. Lol. It looks good- but if you know me- you know it's not my hair.
Also- eyebrows and eyelashes are still here along with other body hair. Seems to be mostly my head shedding.
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I just finished treatment 5 yesterday. I decided to shave my head Oct 29th. I’m going to order in some Chinese food with the kids and my husband and let them shave it. My 4 year old tells me she wants to be a hair dresser so I’ll let her give me a haircut first. Lol. With assistance of course.
I have been losing hair pretty consistently and pretty evenly. I still have coverage but I would say already 50% is gone. I’m getting patchy on the sides- I think I’ll be sprouting bald spots there. My front and part are definitely receding.
My head is very tender- like I slept with a pony tail. I’m starting to wear hats/caps occasionally to get use to it.
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I finished number 8 of 12 on Wednesday. I’ve still got a lot of hair 55-60% but it’s continuing thinning every time I touch it practically. I’ve been ready for it to be gone for weeks, so I’ll just buzz it whenever I’m start looking like one big combover I did notice my underarm hair stopped growing and the outer half of my lower leg hairs are all gone. Bikini hair is about 50% gone I skipped my menstruation last week, so thats probably not coming back for a while.
Despite icing, I had some neuropathy pain in my left hand for a few days last week - like a painful cramp. It’s gone now, leaving only three reduced sensitivity fingertips per hand. No foot or toe issues.
The last two weeks, they switched my port dressing to a hypoallergenic kind since I would break out for a few days after the infusion. The new dressing does the trick - I’m only red when it’s first removed and it’s gone within an hour.
2/3rds done! Want to learn more about what and when the rads will look like during the Holiday season.
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Smooth, we are on the same schedule exactly (#8 in the history book last Wed). I've iced both hands and feet, and neuropathy is starting to catch me, too. I got my dose reduced by 10% for #7 and #8. I think it slowed things down, but today the tips of my toes are going numb like my fingers did a few weeks back, so I'll probably get it reduced again.
Hair, looks like we are all a little different. Bikini hair is about 70% gone for me. Axillary hair was gone in week 2, and I really don't miss it. Leg hair seems like it tries to grow a bit occasionally. Head hair doesn't count for me because I'm capping. It has been shedding the last few weeks more than usual, but oddly, my scalp is less painful than it had been. I totally get what 1982M is talking about with feeling like it's been in a ponytail.
Eyebrows are 50% gone but started absurdly thick, so only people who know me well notice. Lashes are getting thinner but still hanging in there.
Rash: anyone else getting a totally obnoxious face and chest rash that looks like measles crossed with acne? I've been told to try cortisone cream, and can't really tell that it's doing much.
1982M, I'm really glad you started this, because it was one of the things that gave me the most anxiety: losing body, head and face hair is losing a part of your identity that others recognize, and I wanted to have some idea of when I could expect what to go: when would it become outwardly obvious to everyone that I was going through something I'd rather keep private. I hope this thread becomes helpful to others who will go through this.
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I’m glad it’s helpful! I found it confusing trying to find information on weekly taxol regimes. I update it in hopes it helps someone else. I found it stressful navigating it all at the start.
It’s interesting bc my eyelashes, eyebrows, and pubic hair are all hanging in. I shaved my legs today!!! But continual thinning of my head hair still. Its very noticeable on my hair line after my 5th treatment. I’m wearing beanies.
I don’t have a rash but I have acne - I think it’s from dexamethasone but the nurse said taxol can cause it too. I had one day where I had neuropathy early on- but nothing since.
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1982M -yes, I have some of the worst acne I’ve ever had in my life, especially around the mouth, chin, etc.
Dry nostrils too and it’s scabby in there for almost the past two weeks - it’s miserable if I don’t have Vaseline and a cotton swab to soothe it.
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I shaved my head on Friday after taxol treatment #6. It feels soooooo much better. No more aches. My husband took some pictures and you can see how thin I was- I would say about 50% by week 6. I don’t notice these little hairs falling out.
I would say physical comfort and mental health are better after the head shave. I was somewhat obsessing over the visible amount of hair I would find. I feel a lot better bald!
However, I just cannot like wearing a wig. I bought one and it’s cute, but I just feel odd and my head feels itchy. I bought accessories to help too like a wig cap, and slip grips but I doubt I’ll wear it at all. I got insurance to cover $300 of it. I paired $65 out of pocket. I’ll prob donate it in Feb. Once I know I won’t wear it.
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I did six weekly taxol sessions last winter and lost my hair by treatment three. At first I had my daughter cut my hair very short and then I just buzzed it. My scalp wasso sensitive but I found a silk pillowcase to be helpful and lots of hats- glad it was winter. My hair has grown back into something I've never see, dark with almost no gray (I'm 63) and curly, it just sticks up all over when I always had very straight hair.
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