hair loss

deechrist

hi---i'm new to this website---i was diagnosed with Stage 2, Grade 3 Her+ Invasive Ductal Carcinoma on Nov. 1.  Had bilateral mastectomy on Nov. 14 and started chemo on Dec.18.  My first four rounds of chemo are Adriamycin and Cytoxin.  I'm prepared for hair loss, but my question is that my hair is thinning, however, no bald spots yet.  I had decided that when I started losing it that I was just going to shave it off so as not to deal with all the hair lying around.  Should I shave yet, or is that silly?

Survivor07

I have a different kind of cancer but as soon as my hair started falling out, I buzzed it all off.  I wanted to control my hair loss.  I'm really glad I did too.

Susan

glostagirl

My hair started lightly shedding 2 weeks after the first chemo.  I treated it gently to hold on to it for as long as I could.  The day after the 2nd infusion, it started to drop big time, so I borrowed my husbands electric clipper and buzzed away.  My 10 year old son exclaimed, Mom you got a number 1 (barber talk for closeness of the buzz).  Sure I cried, who wouldn't....  Like Survivor07, I liked being in control of my own loss.  I sure couldn't have dealt with going to a public hair salon to get shaved. 

I've posted elsewhere that Ekhart Tolle's book A New Earth, particularily Chapters 2 & 3 were very helpful in coming to terms with the Ego issues of hairloss. 

I'm now 5 months out of tx, my hair is growing back slowly, not curly (darn) and I get a lot of positive comments from people that it looks good on me.   I love the freedom of having, for once in my life, wash & wear hair!  

Also, I did buy a really nice wig, but hardly wore it.  I had chemo in the late winter and spring and found that even at home, because of low blood counts and the hair loss I was cold all the time.  So I wore soft, cozy cotton or fleece hats and often a scarf wrapped around my neck.  I even slept in a hat, just for warmth.  I didn't start having hot flashes until the summer, which is why I didn't get much use out of my wig, I couldn't stand having it on my head during a flash.  One day driving to radiation this happened when I was sitting at a red light, I ripped the wig off and tossed it on the passenger seat, then noticed someone in the lane next to me looking over, oops. 

Well, hope this helps, gotta go get ready to go skiing with my hubby, yahoo. 

Poppy

Hi Dee, My hair started coming out in clumps the day before my 2nd A/C treatment (13 days in). I flipped out, grabbed the scissors and started hacking it away. Then I used my hubby's clippers and buzzed my head. There was something empowering about just doing it as opposed to the slow loss that was bound to happen. I had wigs and caps... your head will get cold (even if you get hot flashes!) so be sure to have a warm polar fleece or similar cap to wear around the house and to sleep in. The hair thing was a huge issue for me but in the end, it was a small price to pay. Hugs!
Erica

mbpetit

Hi Dee,

My hair started to go about day 14 after my AC treatments.  I also did 4 Taxol treatments.  When it started to come out in clumps and I knew it was time...went to the hair salon and had her shave it for me.  It was a hard day...but we got through it.  Just a heads up, my head was sore for a fews days (not sure why) but a silk pillowcase at night to sleep on helped until it stopped hurting.  I am happy to say that was about a year ago for me...I am now going out without the wig sporting my new "short do".  Hang in there!!!!

Erica has a good suggestion...I wore caps all the time around the house last winter and even slept in them.  In the spring and summer baseball caps are the way to go.