Hair Hair Hair - Another question

SpecialK

bdavis - how are you doing?  I have been worrying about you lately.

bdavis

Better... no fever, had a bacterial infection but doc got me on a good antibiotic... now packing my wide open wound with saline covered gauze... and blood clot could be gone sooner than they first thought, so may be done with that in a couple of weeks.. here's hoping. My MO said he would have just treated me with baby asprin... my primary has me on self injectable blood thinners.

SpecialK

bdavis - are they giving you Coumadin or something else?  The thinner is not causing any excessive bleeding in your open wound?  I am hoping the clot-busting is done soon so you can heal and get on with it - I am sure that is what you are hoping for too!  Glad your fever is done - man, I hate complications!  I am rooting for you!

bdavis

Thanks Specialk.. I am on Lovenox, not Coumadin.. They wanted to quickly stop it if I had a problem and Coumadin takes a couple of days to get out of the system...so far, I don't see increased bleeding... but I hope it isn't impacting the healing.

lilylady

bdavis-how does your chest look? With all the problems you have had I wondered if you were happy with your results? And is where they took the stuff from healing up OK?

Sounds like maybe things are slowly atrating to turn around for you thank goodness!!

shevawn

Hi, ladies.

I just have  a quick question that I'm hoping someone can answer fairly easily. I started chemo - Cytoxan & Taxotere on August 3rd. I go back Aug 24th for round 2 of 4. As of today - 13 days in, I haven't felt anything that would warn me I'm about to lose my hair. I already purchased a halo and a full wig is on order, but I'm wondering WHEN will I lose my hair??? The waiting is so hard. It's making me crazy. I'm grateful to still have hair, but I can't help wonder if I'm going to be one of the "lucky ones" who doesn't lose her hair. Is this even possible?? I can't find anything about such online anywhere!! 

 Thanks all & best of luck to everyone! 

YaYa5

shevawn, i didn't start losing my hair until day 16 or so, and then it was just basically shedding, not coming out in clumps in the shower.  i'm doing TCH, but i think the taxotere is what causes the hair loss.  probably the cytoxan, too, but i don't know for sure.  i shaved my hair on day 16 because i couldn't stand the thought of hair clumps coming out in the shower.

SpecialK

shevawn - I don't really think there are any "lucky ones" who don't lose their hair on Taxotere, but there is a lot of variation on when you lose it.  Most feel some tingling or aching at around the 14 day mark from the first tx, and start losing by day 18.  I actually did not lose very much at all and made it through the second tx at day 21 with the majority of my hair - even my onc was surprised. You would not have known I was receiving chemo to look at me.  About 3 days after that I started losing it more quickly and when I developed too much of a receding hairline after washing and drying it - I knew it was time to let it go.  That being said, some people start to grow hair back later in the chemo process.  After I buzzed mine to about 1/4 - 1/2 inch I lost about half of it but the rest of it did not fall out.  I certainly did not have enough to go without a head covering, and that hair grew during the rest of my treatment.  I am 10 weeks PFC, just went to my hairdresser and had her cut it all down to 1/4 inch because all those hairs that didn't fall out were chemo affected and I had a mixture of long and short hairs. Once you part with the hair it gets easier - it is the anticipation that is difficult. Good luck!

bdavis

Lily... My chest is good on left but like a squashed pumpkin on right.. (not that bad)... but my doctor in NOLA is going to operate on Thursday to fix it... so I am off to NOLA tomorrow for a week (unplanned).

Shevawn... just as the others said, everyone is different... at 13 days I had felt nothing.. day 14 started with a little achey scalp and a few hairs came out.. same for day 15, but day 16 the hair started to come out more and I cut it.

bucky317

shevawn I had the exact same experience as special k.  Thought I would of lost all my hair by the 2nd treatment ( was warned that by day 14 your hair starts to fall out) but I went to my second treatment ( Taxotere, Cytoxan and Herceptin) with my hair alot thinner, but was able to pull it back in a ponytail! After my 2nd tx. though, the hair went quickly. It was difficult at first, but it is funny how you, your family, and friends adjust to your "hairlessness." We laughed and I was called everything from "Beetlejuice" to as of lately " Uncle Fester". Laughter is the best medicine!!  Chemo goes by quickly and before you know it, you feel the top of your head and alas there is hair "sprouting" Yahoo!!!   

Good Luck to you!!! 

Carrol2

shervawn there is a possibility you will not lose your hair but most people do. I had 4 tx of TC too. I did not see anything until some shedding on about day 16 after tx1,  then day 18 when i came out of the shower I saw about 30% of it was gone and almost all the rest came out in the shower over the next few days after that. NO warning. So brace yourself. I am sorry to say it will probably still come out. But it grows back and it will be thicker and healthier than ever.

dexxy

thought I would add, I'm doing cold caps to try and keep my hair.  didn't work out so well I look like "Friar Tuck"   something out of any good robinhood adventure.

Carrol2

wow dexxy sorry the cold caps did not work i know they are very expensive. The salesman there was super pushy to me. He told me there was a 15% chance my hiar would not grow back and I could not find anything to support that from teh drug info, online or from my doctor. I felt like he prayed upon my fear. I always wondered if my hair would not have fallen out had i used them tho.

lago

Carrol there are many women that did use them and kept most of their hair. I still have no regrets not using them. I really hated spending money on cancer shit except for a couple of scarves that I've kept. BTW you came up in our lunch conversation today. (Had lunch with Adey). We both were commenting how much we like your hair this way.

nowords

My hairdresser has a few clients who did the cold caps and she said that of those that kept hair, it was very damaged and needed cut away for the most part.

bdavis

And my MO didn't want me using cold caps because the chemo can't get to the scalp as well... you'd hate to go thru chemo and not have it work on your scalp and get mets... that was the deal breaker for me.

lago

Just realized after watching this video that my Halle hair can change to Bowie hair by just bushing it with a little gel… but mine hair is shorter on the sides and back.

Kay_G

Bdavis, good to hear your fevers are gone and you are doing better.  Hope everything works out great for you with your surgery.  Best of luck and sending you good thoughts.

bdavis

Thanks Kay.

LisaGH

bdavis. thinking of you. best wishes.

SpecialK

LisaGH - hi my triplet!  How are you - I have missed you.  How are things?

bdavis - good luck to you on the unplanned surgical adventure - hope everything goes perfectly for you and have no new hurdles!

Linda-n3

Just stopping by tonight to say hello and best wishes to you all.  Keeping you in my thoughts.

Just noticed that my temporary coloring is truly that: TEMPORARY!  Starting to see the gray on top again, but the white hair at the sides is still darker.  Trying to get a new photo to show off.... you all look so great!!

Jen1832

Also stopping by to tell you all that I stopped wearing headcoverings this week at just over 8 weeks.  I took my son to college and while moving him I just couldn't take it anymore.  All comments have been positive and it feels wonderful!  I don't have much more hair than my last pic.  For those of you who are trying to decide....DO IT!  You will be glad you did.  No one really cares but those of us who don't have hair!

LisaGH

 SpecialK- I am good- how are you? Think of you often my triplet pal. I had herceptin today

Jen1832- I agree totally- it's hard initially to give up the headcoverings- but once you do- it's great. Overall folks are very kind.

I'd like to color my hair now- any suggestions on what to use? It's oh so short still...but want to get rid of that gray! 

SpecialK

LisaGH - I am good.  Keeping busy with too many doc appts.  I am doing lymph PT twice a week until next week, then down to once a week for 3 weeks, then on my own.  I have PS tomorrow, I think he might do the first fill - scared!!  Never had one before even though I am almost a year into this!  I am starting a American Cancer Society workshop run by one of the volunteers at the Hope Lodge adjacent to Moffitt Cancer Center, she asked if I would speak.  I am also going to be part of a clinical trial starting next month at Moffitt on Mindful Relaxation for BC survivors.  They teach you specific relaxation techniques and then measure your cortisol levels.  Don't yet know if I am in the control group or the real group - it is a compensated trial.  They are focusing on BC people who are in the process of exiting active treatment (chemo and rads) to see if their stress increases or decreases - and how these techniques affect that.  I don't know how you got off by a week with your H only infusions - dragonfly and I are next week!  What is up with that?  We will still be your triplets though.

Hair is coming in - but it is so gray it is hard to tell.  I am definitely not ready to go without something on my head.  From a distance I look completely bald - you have to be a foot away to see that I actually have hair!

bettereveryday

When I was diagnosed, I had hair to my waist.  I found that if you have your hair cut prior to starting chemo, it can be donated to either the women's cancer centers or the children's cancer centers, the women's cancer center requires the hair be in 9 inch increments, the childrens donation will take it all.  My hairdresser washed and braided 21 inches of hair, leaving me about 4 inches and donated to the children's cancer center.  The weekend before I started chemo I got buzzed.  The books I had read mentioned that losing the hair could be painful and I knew I didn't need any more of that, and besides after growing my hair for so long, knowing it went for the children made haircut so much easier for me to tolerate.  Check with your local hairdressers, they should have all the information about the proper lengths and preparation of the donation, and you'll feel better about the hair loss.  I promise.  (Mine didn't even start regrowing till after I finished radiation almost a year after beginning the first round of chemo and by then I had quite a collection of hats and scarfs, and after washing them all throughly, I donated those to the local cancer center as well.)  

jackifp

You can't donate grey hair, tho - something to do with the wig making process, apparently. I had a spinner friend spin my long hair into yarn, and it now is part of a hat I crocheted.

jackifp

You can't donate grey hair, tho - something to do with the wig making process, apparently. I had a spinner friend spin my long hair into yarn, and it now is part of a hat I crocheted.

TreadSoftly

jackifp - I like that!  You are still 'wearing your hair on your head'!!

SpecialK

I donated my hair to myself - had my 8" ponytails made into an "underhair" which is like a wig but with a cloth top, you have to wear a hat to cover the cloth part.  I like wearing it because it is soft and much cooler and not itchy like the wig, and also when I wear it I look like my old self.