Did You Lose ALL of Your Hair during Chemo

bqswnnhn09

I was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer this January at age 40. I am currently undergoing chemotherapy 4AC + 4T. My hair started to fall out after second AC, so I buzzed it. Now I have completed all four ACs, I still have some stubbles not falling out. I am just curious if this has something to do with age also. The younger you are, the more likely you will still have some hair left? Please share your experience.

Thanks,

Michelle

amy92407

Hey Michelle. I'm happy to hear your 4 AC txs are done. My mom had AC when she was 29 and lost all of her hair. I'm 28 and had TCH x6 and did not lose all of my hair. It was very thin and coming out in clumps so I too buzzed it. Its growing back slowly. I imagine age may have something to do with it but I also think everybodies body chemistry is different. Good luck with the rest of your treatment.

amy

BethNY

It has nothing to do with age... almost everyone loses their hair on Adriamycin. You may see some hair growth with the T on your head... for me the hair on my head started to sprout, but my eyelashes and brows fell out at the last chemo...grrrr.

BUT- all these years later, my hair is long and healthy, and yours will be again too!! It never grows fast enough in the beginning, but stay hydrated, and be patient.

Glad you're almost done with tx!!! Getting past the AC is the best part!!!!

bqswnnhn09

amy92407 and BethNY: Thank you for sharing your experiences and words of encouragement. 

amy92407: Glad to know your hair is growing back. Hope your new hair will be as good as your original one if not better.

BethNY: Glad to hear your hair is long and healthy. I hope mine will be too. By the way, did you lose your hair on your head COMPLETELY or most of it?

 Michelle 

Bethie1

Michelle-- you have the same chemo treatment as I do--4AC/4T. The AC makes you lose your hair.  I'm done with chemo as of 5/20, and started to see more strands fall out after 2 treatment of AC. I then had my brother buzz it!! Now head itches as hair is trying to grow back in, but I'm probably scratching stubble off.  I was told by my onc that I won't start to see hair grow until after last chemo is done

lovinmomma

Lost it all and I was 41.

foxyroxy2983

I'm 26 and I lost most of my hair, then I shaved my head while on AC and still have stubble. Well then again, I was a hairy chick to begin with. Just out of curiosity, when chemo is over, does body hair grow back the same, worse, or at all? It's been nice not having to shave my legs and armpits, especially in this hot California weather

amy92407

Foxy- I don't know how the body hair will grow back but it will grow back. Mine just started growing back, I now actually have to shave my legs atleast once a week. My arms and armpits have very fine hair only. My mom had chemo many years ago and hers grew back just as it was prior to her treatments, other women I know it grew back thicker. Hopefully, we both get fabulous hair on the head and minimal everywhere else! Ha-  wish it worked that way.:) Best of luck.

Bethie1

I'm starting to see peach fuzz on my head and I ended chemo on 5/20.  I've heard hair sometimes grows back thicker; have to see what gappens.   I have yet to get through radiation.

kellyless

I've yet to meet anyone who's head went shiny bald, we've all had stubble, but if you hadn't lost a lot of hair, you wouldn't see much scalp thru the stubble - it would be more like a beginning chia pet all the women I've seen have plenty of baldness showing with stubble.  Im 45.

lisasayers

I'm 45 and also shaved mine as soon as it started falling out, but it was always growing.  I continued to shave even after chemo ended...for about a month.  It's really growing, but I'm keeping it this length.  I wore it short before...but I'm loving it this length and get a ton of compliments. 

lilablue

According to my onc. nurse, depending on the products of chemo, you have some chance to keep your hair. I had 4 cycles of taxotere/Cytoxan at 35 yrs. My nurse told me there was no chance to keep the hair. she was right..... I start losing it after 2nd round of chemo and shaved it before it fall too much. Thankfully, I did not lose eyebrows and eyelashes. One month after ending chemo, it started to grow again. It is five months after end of chemo and I have short hairstyle. The only problem my hair is growing curly so it is more difficult to see the growing progresses... but I am thankful to have hair again

ddlatt

i'm 54 and finished my AC/T treatment a month ago. i never lost all my hair. it was super short, but never completely bald. now it's growing back very quickly - also my eyelashes are just now growing back and leg hair is growing back very quickly.

Firni

I'm 53, had 6 rounds of TC and I was shiny bald everywhere.  I looked like a newborn rat.  I'm now 10 weeks post chemo and have shaved my legs once about a week ago.  The hair on my head is now a mere suggestion of a 5:00 shadow.  But it is finally coming in.  I have 2-3 eyelashes on each eye and a few eyebrows coming in.  No hair under my arms.  That's ok.  Still sporting the Brazilian waxed look.  Of course menopause facial hair was quick to come back.  grrrrrr.  At least that was really fine and easy to take care of.

CollegeGirl

Hi, I've just turned 24, and haven't lost any hair at all during 22 sessions of radiation treatment. Started Doxorubicin + Cyclophosphan (Cyclophosphamide) chemo on May 19th, and the hair on my head started coming out after about 20 days (took 4-5 days for most of it to be gone). What did stay was shaved off, seriously, having bits and pieces of it felt more terribly than being bald now. My wigs are pretty though, and I've finally made it to the blonde look

I'm lucky to have lashes and eyebrows, and shaving legs and armpits is still something i engage in (the hair is really fine though), but I'm waiting to see what happens (had my second round this past Tuesday, 2 more to go!). I'd normally get a Brazilian once a month, but right now it doesn't seem like there's a need for an appointment this month!! lol

foxyroxy2983

I don't know if it's just me, but did anyone lose their hairs inside their nostrils? I know it sounds weird, but I just noticed that the other day while I was doing my makeup.

Firni

Sara, I lost ALL of my hair.  On my head, in my nose (that's why it ran all the time),the peach fuzz on my face, my arms, legs, pits, pubes, lashes, brows ...ALL of it. I could have done competitive swimming!  I'm now 3 months past chemo (today) and my head hair is about 1/8 inch long, I've shaved my legs and underarms twice in the last 3 weeks and other body hair is starting to come back.  In my nose too.  The hair that is coming  back is really fine, like baby hair.  My lashes and brows have come back and fallen out again.  Still waiting for the return of those.

foxyroxy2983

Firni, I still have my eyebrows and lashes, but who knows how long that is going to last. I still have 8 more rounds left, I hope I can still hang on to my eyebrows and eyelashes. Well it's nice to not have body hair especially in the summer. I'm just glad that I'm saving money on brazillian waxing and razors, hahaha.

Laurie09

I'm 39.

I finished AC about 4 weeks ago and have had 2 taxol treatments so far.. 

I lost almost all of the hair on my head (>90%) but have held on to a really annoying very thin fuzz layer.  I had it cut short before it fell out, so I was left with a 1/2 cm long very sparse layer all over the top of my head.  I kept thinking the rest of it would fall out but it hasn't.  I probably should have it shaved but I haven't because my Dr.s have told me that I could start seeing some regrowth during the taxol. 

Firni

Sara, I just draw on my brows and put liner on my upper and lower eye lids and no one notices I don't have lashes or brows.  Even DH didn't notice the lashes were gone until I told him.  I guess people just don't look at people very closely.  Wouldn't it be nice if someone came up with a chemo that kept our head hair and got rid of the body hair?

LBDVM  I know there have been quite a few people whose hair started growing during taxol.  Too bad it doesn't come in nice and evenly.  Most of them shaved their heads a couple times to get the hair growth even.  I still have the "old man" bald spot on my head.  There is hair there, it's so fine and light you can't see it.  But I noticed yesterday that I'm growing a dark Mohawk thru it.   I may just shave my head again now.  The old man bald spot was bad enough.  Now it's just looking ridiculous.

foxyroxy2983

To shave my head or to not shave my head? I still have seven rounds of taxol left and I'm starting to grow peach fuzz on my head. I'm not sure whether to grow it out or shave it and wait for real hair to come in. Any suggestions ladies? Also, is it normal to have your head to sweat a lot while you sleep?

noni1

I was dx last March at age 55 with IDC . I had 12 treatments of Taxol, after the first two I starting losing my hair all over my body.  My husband buzzed my head for me.  After Taxol I had 4 treatments of Adriamycin or the Red Devil as we called it, that all ended at the end of September.  I have to say that in October when I had breast surgery I started to notice fuzz growing back on my head, then my eyelashes, brows and every other place it is supposed to grow. It is almost July 09 and my hair is about 2 1/2 inches long all over my head.  I am so thankful to be alive and to have hair that I have not even cut it yet,  I just was it and let it fall where it may.

God bless you all and stay healthy, here's to us we did it.

When are you considered a survivor? 

LizzyGirl15

I had 4 treatments of AC and on my 9 of 12 treatments of Taxol. I lost all of my hair on the AC and it started growing back 2 treatments into my Taxol. However, I am now losing my brows and eyelashes.YUCK! I LOVED the fact when I was on the AC I didn't have to shave my legs, armpits or bikini and it was as smooth as a babies bottom! But for some reason my hair is growing much faster and I have to shave every day!

Anyway you look at it, it hard to face the changes your body is going through. Chemotherapy is long and aggressive and it all sucks! But I guess look at the good things (mine were that I had amazing skin and didn't have to shave on AC and my hair on my head is growing on T) and love life!

cmharris59

I had my tx when I was 48. All of my hair fell out except the hair on my arms. Now I am one year past last chemo, rads, and herceptin tx. My hair is about 4" long on my head. The hair under my arms never came back, YEAH!!!! There is much less hair on my legs than before the chemo. I also have less pubic hair - maybe TMI. so far so good. My head hair seemed to come back much curlier than before but now it is starting to calm down to the waves I had before. I think that has to do with length. The shorter my hair was before, the wavier it was.

MJLToday

It's the Adriamycin (red devil) that causes 100% chance of hair loss.  But it will come back, sweetie.  Here's to many future hair styling appts!

Lauren3

I still have my lashes, some of my brows, sporadic stubble on my head and all the hair on my arms.  I'm through 4 rounds of TAC. 

Glad I found this post - I've been wondering...

PaminFL

Hi Michelle.  I'm 36 yrs old and finished TCH in Oct. 2008 (almost one year ago... Yaaay!).  I had long hair my whole life.  I thought I was going to be an exeption and my hair wasn't going to fall out at all... boy was I in denial!   I just couldn't picture myself bald.  Once it happened I got over it pretty quick and kept reminding myself that I was doing this to save my life... and it's only hair, this is temporary, it's going to grow back.  I didn't lose all of my hair.  It was patchy.  Most of my hairloss was in my temple area (it was pretty much bald there).  The rest of my hair was just very thinned out.  It grows back pretty quick though.  I was self consious about my bald head so I never took my wig off, only to shower and sleep or if I was home alone (didn't want to scare my kids..lol).  In March, I finally had enough of the wig and had my hair to trimmed into a pixie cut and colored it.  Now almost one year out, it's about 4 inches long.  It seems like it is thicker than before.  The weird part is that most people have straight hair then end up having curly hair after chemo... I'm opposite.  Before chemo, my hair had a wave to it that I hated (I flat ironed it everyday).  So far, my hair looks straighter than it was before (keeping my finger crossed that it stays that way!).  I never did lose any eye lashes, but my eyebrows thinned out some.   

Pam

Leah_S

With the A/C I lost the hair on top of my head, and it thinned out on the rest of my head - male pattern baldness. I looked a lot more like my father. When I started the taxol (having been told some women get their hair back during taxol) I lost the rest of my hair. At that point I looked more like a billiard ball.

I lost the hair on my legs right at the beginning of treatment (did NOT mind that!) and on my arms at about the same time. The hair under my arms and, ahem, in a more personal place thinned but wan't gone altogether. I lost my eyelashes, and my eyebrows thinned almost but not cmpletely about 3 months into treatment. It was the last to go but thankfully the first to come back. That was the hardest hair loss for me.

I don't know if age has anything to do with it, but FWIW I'm 58.

Leah

usamom1

I still have my eyebrows/lashes too after 4 sessions of TAC.  Will I lose them with the next 2?