Hair Not Coming Back-freaking out

Options
hmcscarlet
hmcscarlet Member Posts: 7
edited June 2014 in Stage III Breast Cancer
Hair Not Coming Back-freaking out
· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • hmcscarlet
    hmcscarlet Member Posts: 7
    edited June 2010

    Greetings - first time posting in this forum.  I was diagnosed with Stage 3A in November '09.  I had a lumpectomy along with 20 nodes removed (5 affected).  I started TAC chemo in January of this year (taxotere, adriomyacin, cytoxin) and had my last of 6 treatments on  April 29th.  So by my calculations it's been almost 7 weeks since my last chemo, right?

    I have seen no hair growth yet and I'm starting to freak out and worry that it won't come back at all.  There is very minor stubble which was there all throughout my chemo and I swear it hasn't changed at all.  There is no pubic or leg hair anywhere. 

     I saw my oncologist 2 weeks ago and she told me to just be patient, but I'm hearing/reading stories about how most people have had some visible growth by this point.  I also read in one forum that taxotere is known to cause permanent hair loss, but I don't believe everything I read. 

    Anyone else with this type of chemo who had to wait awhile for the hair to grow back?  I'm 35 and single and already have a lot counting against me in the search for a guy....I really don't think I can handle being permanently bald! :(

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • KittyDog
    KittyDog Member Posts: 1,079
    edited June 2010

    My last chemo was Feb. 27.  I finally started getting my hair back the first of May.  I say don't get to discouraged yet.  Mine grows very slow and still can't pinch it yet.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • 3jaysmom
    3jaysmom Member Posts: 4,266
    edited June 2010

    me, too.. i had same reg. of chemo, and my hair has been slow coming back..drs assure me, i had little fuzz during chemo, 3 eyelashes, and itty bitty amts. of eyebrows.  they have all started coming back, but at a really slow pace, and much much thinner than be4.hairs hair, thio...i got really po'd... the first sign of hair for me was my mustache over my lip, and it was dark, not grey like the hair on my head was!!! be patient, sweetie. youll get it back, if u kept any at alll. its just never the same as it was (IS ANYTHING the way it was BE4 bc, nor fast enough.  keep us posted.      light and love, 3jaysmom

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • LittleFlower
    LittleFlower Member Posts: 405
    edited June 2010

    I can't remember how long it took, but since my treatment was different (with herceptin) it doesn't matter.  I just wanted to point out that your last treatment was the end of April, but that last dose was in you system longer than that one day! (((HUGS))) your hair is coming... and when it does come in, it'll be beautiful!  Patience my dear......Congrats on finishing treatment!

    LittleFlower

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • RegulJ
    RegulJ Member Posts: 244
    edited June 2010

    I didn't have some of the same chemo but I finished my TCH x6 in March-ish and I only have about one-eighth of an inch on my head right now.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • apple
    apple Member Posts: 7,799
    edited June 2010

    it takes a while  i was about 6 wks out when it started returning.. meanwhile that facial hair needs to go (i used an electric shaver).

    hang in there

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Leah_S
    Leah_S Member Posts: 8,458
    edited June 2010

    I had similar chemo almost exactly 1 year before you. I didn't really see any stubble until about mid-July.

    Hang in there.

    Leah

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • paml
    paml Member Posts: 81
    edited June 2010
    I finished up chemo in May. I didn't take off my wig until the end of October. It was still very short like a crew cut. When it came back, it was extremely curly.
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • hmcscarlet
    hmcscarlet Member Posts: 7
    edited June 2010

    Thanks guys! I guess I just need to be a little more patient.  Just seems like i should at least have some light fuzz everywhere by now. 

     Another question - does the pubic hair come back at the same time as the head hair?  Or does it come earlier or later or just depend? 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Joviangeldeb
    Joviangeldeb Member Posts: 213
    edited June 2010

    Hi. I recall mine began to grow back about 6 weeks following my last chemo.  At first it was barely noticeable.  Like a very fine white peach fuzz.

    and hmscarlet: all my body hair came back after I began growing hair back on my head.  Eyebrows, pubic, under arms and legs.  My body hair is not the same though.  it's way sparser than before chemotherapy.  However, I enjoy not having to shave as much as before.  Just wish my eyelashes had come back longer. they're shorter in length than prior.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Lilah
    Lilah Member Posts: 4,898
    edited June 2010

    I did not see any hair growth for 8 weeks -- around week 8 I noticed, finally, that I had a five o'clock shadow on my head.  Took awhile to become more than that.  Patience is good counsel.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Laurie_R
    Laurie_R Member Posts: 262
    edited June 2010

    3j-Doesn't it figure that the mustach is the first thing to come back-I'm in the same boat as you. 

    hm-I'm 59 yrs. old and about a week behind you with the same rejement of drugs and same amount of txs so I can relate to your fears and being anxiouse to have your hair back

    . I've been told to use Toxnol (don;t think I spelled it right) shampoo to help with hair growth.  Maybe some one here can give the correct spelling.  Good luck and look forward to your updates. 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Texas357
    Texas357 Member Posts: 1,552
    edited June 2010

    My last chemo was in April. I wore a wig until the end of August, when I finally had about 3/4" of hair. It's been about 14 months and my eyelashes and brows are still sparse.  

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • negirly
    negirly Member Posts: 318
    edited June 2010

    I was 8 weeks at least before I saw a "shadow".  Too bad it takes so long to grow back but comes out in days.  My last A/C was 6/25 last year and it started to grow late August.  I stopped wearing my wig September 17 after I finished radiation.  Got my first trim Dec 1 - exactly one year after being diagnosed.  I used Latisse on my eyelashes and it worked great.

    Karyn

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Beverly11
    Beverly11 Member Posts: 443
    edited June 2010

    The hair regrowth is truly a test of one's patience.  Mine has grown in slow.  Plus it is very curly.  My photo is just shy of a year out.  I have also read that it is possible but RARE that hair does not come back.  When mine came in it also grew in stages.  The bottom 1st and then the top.  I needed to wear a wig for 8 plus months after chemo.  I think a lot of women go wigless much sooner.  There is a huge variation so try to relax.  Eat well to provide some nourishment for the folicles. lol.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mproffit
    mproffit Member Posts: 2
    edited June 2010

    It took me a couple of months before my stubble turned into real hair.  I ended my last chemo in Sept 2009 and began to grow hair in Nov. 2009.  It's been eight months since and now have about six inches!  I am also young and have had a similar diagnosis.  One thing that helped me was to change my diet and take Juice PLUS+.  Hang in there and be patient!  Your body now needs to detox, so to speak!

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories