Hair Hair Hair - Another question

juli0212

I agree, hate the shaving part again.  LOVED being bald *ALL OVER*  

I was never bedridden with the Neulasta shot, as my bf and I only had Sundays to spend together.  It was REALLY difficult to walk, but we enjoy driving our sports cars, and I still wanted to do that...yes, even thru that horrible pain, and it WAS horrible, but as you said, Theresa, well worth it.  I knew others as well who were hospitalized with the extremely low white counts.  Good luck with your hair, mine also came in totally gray, I color and perm it...and never ever comb it.

~juli

Laurie_R

I'm getting my first trim since finishing treatment today. It's getting a little fuzzy around my ears. And I'm hopeing getting a trim will encourage it to grow faster. I'm almost 4 months post treatment.  Wish me luck.

MBJ

Carol:  I was so afraid of chemo until I did it and knew how my body would react to it.  Once I knew that, figured out how to deal with the horrible constipation, it was liking having the flu for a few days once a month.  I was more afraid of the unknown and once I knew what it was, I was fine.  I never had pain with the shots.  Not once.  I had them shoot it into my tummy where I heard the least amount of sid effects are caused, and I never even noticed them.  I wish the same for you!

Carrol2

Thanks MBJ I am having a day of weakness.My husband is out of town and I am cleaning which i hate but I will love it when its all done. I keep looking at the prunes that were once my breasts and just thinking how hard this all is.

juli0212

Carrol:  You are certainly entitled to whatever your body is feeling.  It IS hard, no denying that.  There's nothing that we cannot absolutely get thru, with all of the treatments/medications/shots that are absolutely necessary for survival.  Remember, it all passes VERY quickly (the pain from the Neulasta shots was due to it making marrow in the hips for the white counts, so it was pain in the hips mostly, and I knew exactly how long it would last, 3 days, so I could definitely get thru that!  Lucky the ones who did not experience pain or discomfort...it's TOLERABLE, I'll put it that way!)....GOOD LUCK to you, you are just starting out on your journey, may it be as pain-free and QUICK as possible.  (((HUGS))) to you.   ~juli

Anonymous

Most of my Neulasta shots were uneventful until the last one. The first couple of them left me a little achy, but I was fine. The last one was the worst. It felt like shattered glass being pushed into my arm. Other that that one it wasn't bad at all.

juli0212

Congrats Nancy on your last chemo treatment~!  Good luck with your radiation treatment (aloe gel is AWEsome to put on the areas radiated, every single day, over and over, it dries quickly).  We await to see how YOUR hair grows back!  Keep us posted!  KUDOS!   ~juli

charmainejensenvoisine

Today worse possible day - My father passed away at 11:00am (Thursday Sept 28th)  He started off with colon and stomach cancer and then it passed on to other organs.  My father lived in Danmark and I was calling him like approximately ever 4 months or so and the last time I spoke to him was at the end of April and at that time he told me that the doctor said he only had a few months to live.  I was hoping that it was a bit longer, as I am just in the process of finishing my passport application and would not have it finished to go to his funeral    So am going to miss calling him and talking to him on the phone.  Am very, very saddened ....

Charmaine

dutchgirl6

(((Charmaine)))  I'm so sorry to hear about your dad, losing a parent can be difficult. 

Can you not have your passport application rushed on compassionate grounds?  I would look into it if I were you.  Call yoru local passport office, call your MP's office.  I missed my father's funeral in Spain because of an expired passport, and afterwards I was told that it could have been done.  I wish that I had known, because I wanted to go.  Take care.

Carrol2

My condolences Charmaine. My did passed 4 years ago and I still miss him terribly.

Anonymous

So sorry Charmaine. Sending you hugs.

MaryNY

Charmaine: so sorry to hear that. Would they not give you a rush passport to go to his funeral or maybe it would be too much of a rush for you now?

charmainejensenvoisine

Unfortunately I cannot get my Guarantor to fill out the part of the passport until Thursday, and then I cannot get up to the passport office until Monday and unfortunately my fathers funeral is Monday

Thank you all for the suggestion of getting the passport done fast which they can do normally in 24 hours..  But I have a couple people I have to contact re couple area of passport I have to fill out

re Identity Refences...

Oh and thanks for the condolences..  it is a tough time for me.  I kept in touch with my father by telephone every 4-5 months and last time I spoke to him was the end of April and I had planned to call him sometime this week ---  so am really upset about his passing...

 Charmaine

MrsNice

{{{HUGS}}} Charmaine.  So sorry about your father.

Laurie_R

I am trying to post an image. What the heck is the URL. I have pics saved in Flickr.com

kittycat

Charmaine - sorry to hear about your dad.  I lost my dad unexpectantly in January 2008.  I still miss him terribly and find it hard to believe he's still not here.  (((hugs)))

kathimdgd

Charmaine,so sorry to hear of your dads passing.Prayers and good thoughts for you and all who loved him.

Firni,thanks for the tip about the powder.When you got your hair cut,how did they handle the bald spots?? I have let mine grow so i could do a comb over,then i have to use hairspray to hold it in place,and that is not,nor has it ever been one of my favorite things to use.

Julie,the neulasta shot wasn't bad for me,as they told me to take claritin the day before,day of and a couple days after,and that really lessoned the pain.

How do you post all that info about your diagnosis,the grade,and what all you've had done??TIA

Kathi

LadyinBama

Charmaine: My condolences. Awful to have to go through BC and your dad's death at the same time.

goldie0827

Charmaine, what terrible news about your dad and the fact that you can't get there in time for the funeral. Wishing you all the best, I am so sorry!

Laurie, you might be able to click on the picture to view it at 100% in Flickr, then right click on it and copy, then right click here and paste. I know you can do that with photobucket pics, so maybe it will work with flickr.

Kathi, I can't close this window to look and double check or I will lose my post. At the tope of this page are tabs. Black or navy with white writing on them. Click on the one that says "My Home" and on that page should be something like "edit profile". You can do it there.

Lori

Sorry, it's edit my diagnosis.

DiDel

Charmaine I am so sorry to hear about your dad. When my grandmother died she lived in France and my mother called the someone to expedite her travel visa and passport. My mother was a new US citizen, she had her passport under her french citizenship. I will call her and ask her what agency she spoke to. I will PM you her response. I hope you can do something to make it.

Carol - Good luck with treatment. I did 4 rounds of TC and it was very doable. Just make sure you eat LOTS of protein. I think that was key for me to keep my RBC up. I am curious about Nelulasta. My doctor said I would only get it if I needed it, which thankfully I didn't. My onc thought by my last treatment I would need it but I didnt. from what I read on the boards it seems a lot of people are automatically doing Neulasta as soon as they start chemo. It did seem like the worst part of treatment I am just curious why so many people had it as part of their regimine??

I wanted to avoid it at all cost thats why i stuffed my face with protein as much as possible. I also was completely healed from my MX ( I started chemo as late as possible from surgery not by choice) so maybe my immune system was nto compromised. Just curious.

Di

BTW I couldn't wait and colored my hair....they are right it will turn slightly green!! I will wait another two months before coloring again. 

MBJ

((((Charmaine)))):  So sorry for your loss!  I have lost 2 brothers and both parents and it's never easy ever. 

Nancy: Congratulations on being done.

Okay, today I woke up and I look like I could be in the band Green Day--my hair is sticking straight up all over LOL!

Issymom

Today I realized that my hair growth has slowed down substantially.  I am 5 months PFC and my hair is very thick but only an inch long.  I has not grown much in the last few weeks.  Today in the shower I realized I shaved my legs and under arms last Thursday and I don't need to shave yet.  I also lost my eyelashes again a couple of weeks ago.  They are growing back in again.  Has anyone else had their hair growth almost stop.  I started taking Biotin again yesterday.  Hopefully that will help.

I did the 3-Day / 60-Mile walk this past weekend.  It was an amazing experience.  The part I didn't expect was all the support from people cheering.  These were people who had moms, daughters, sisters, etc... who had Breast Cancer (many of whom died from it).  Seeing their pictures and having them thank us for walking was quite emotional.  I still can't wear anything but flip flops but that too shall pass.

flowergirl0214

Hi Issymom,

My hair was very similar as yours, it seemed to grow nice and thick, however I would have to shave like every other week.  I am now out of chemo/rads since Feb this year and my hair is now about 4 inches long.  My eyelashes did the same thing, they 'almost' all grew back and then started falling out.  They are now all back...do you take any other vitamins/supplements?

Congrats on completing the 3 day walk!!

hmh23

Carol;

I had 3 shots of Neulasta and I never experienced any pain whatsoever.  I was scared to death of the shot but it was absolutely nothing except an inconvenience to dry down to the hospital 2 days after I finished my chemo.  Anyhow, it was worth it.

Like MBJ, I too had terrible constipation... recommend taking a stool softener before you have your first chemo and continue to throughout the first 5 days following.  Also, take your anti-nausea meds as soon as you get home. 

Good luck....Heather

gingersfavorite1

oh Charmaine,  I am so sorry  {hugs}

Those seem like such small, empty words when someone is hurting so badly.    I can't imagine ~ and I wish you an enormous amount of peace and comfort in your days ahead. 

Firni

kathidgd  my hairdresser cut my hair in an A-line this time.  It's an old style from the 80s actually.  It's very short.  The top hair is about 2 inches long and tapers down in length to about an inch long in the back and sides.  There is no hair long enough to hang over my ears or to tuck behind my ears.  This leaves enough hair to comb over the bald spots but not to cover them.  Not enough hair on my head to do that no matter what length it is.  So I use the Toppik powder and that kind of fills in the empty spots and covers up the shiny areas.  Having it this short actually makes it look fuller.  If I let it get too long, I look like a balding, ponytail, hippie dude.  At least this way I look sassy, stylish and somewhat authoritative.

Nodapearl

I took Neulasta after every treatment.  I did ask if I could skip it after my last treatment, as the point of the Neulasta is to keep the counts up so I could take the next chemo.  The nurses kind of freaked at the suggestion and said no way, but I asked my onc and he was fine with it.  I did not take the Neulasta after my final treatment, and got the exact same SE's as with the Neulasta.  I was blaming the Neulasta for some SE's that were just noraml chemo issues.  Just a thought for those of you who are taking it........................

I am getting the Brazilian Blow out today!!!!  I got diagnosed two years ago this week, and it seems like I have put it behind me - except for the hair.  So, as a gift to myself, I am going to get the Blow Out.  I will let you know if it helps............. 

MBJ

Nodapearl:  I am so jealous.  Oh to have long enough hair to do that!!!

Rocket

Charmaine - I'm so very sorry for the loss of your dad.  I lost mine three years ago and it seems like yesterday.  We were very close.  My heart grieves for you.

My hair is about two inches long and doesn't seem to be growing as fast either.  I'm now 5 1/2 mths. PFC.  I hope to have almost four inches by December.  We'll see if I make it.  The intense curl makes it look a lot shorter, but it is very thick - and soft before I put product in it.

juli0212

Condolences also to you, Charmaine 

Rocket:  That's how mine grew back in, and it did take quite awhile for it to get long, seemed to be 'stuck' on the 2-3 inches, as you, very very curly.  It stayed quite soft and thick, again, like you for some time!   Enjoy it while you can, mine then turned straighter and thinner...now I need a perm to get fullness & curl back.   ~juli