Does Herceptin slow hair growth?

hey sweetbean, H slowed my hair down and I don't care what the white coats say! My hair growth was moving nicely off chemo, but it took off once the H was done. Now it's thicker than it ever was and I have a head of curls, which is a wonderful change from 39 years of pin-straight tresses. (that being said, I saved a lock of my "old" hair when I shaved it...makes me cry to look at it, every time.)

H is worth it, though...every darn drop of it. Time flies - before you know it, you'll be done with scarves and enjoying a full head of hair again.

j

I didn't think it did, as it did grow while I was on it, but looking back I think it has really taken off since I finished last December.

Sydney - which chemo did you have - taxol or taxotere. Taxotere is harsher on the hair and it's slower growing back. However, a friend had taxol and her hair grew much quicker.



Sue

Absolutely!  How do I know?  I was on chemo in 2002/03 for ovarian cancer, then 2007/08 for breast.  My last three chemos were Taxotere at which time I started Herceptin.  My hair didn't really start to take off until I finished the H in Jan 2009.  In 2003 it grew back much quicker.

Sydney - I've got a photo from when I went back to work a year ago - 4 months after finishing TCH and boy did I NOT have much hair - looking back it was only about 1/2 an inch too. Now it's a bush, so hang in there, it will happen. I keep getting it cut to try and cut off the curls which has helped a bit. I'm letting it grow a bit at the moment as we are going OS in August and I'm waiting until just before we go to get it streaked and trimmed.

Sue

It slowed my normal rate of hair growth by around 50%. My hair has always grown almost 3/4" per month for most of the year (about 1/2"/month during the winter). I am 16 mos after my last Taxol and I have 5" of hair which is a little less than 1/3" per month on average and it hardly grew at all during the 9 mos of Herceptin only.... less than 1/4" per month for sure. I watched it like a hawk, or should I say a bald eagle, LOL!



Also my oncologist said that it takes about 6 months on average for Herceptin to be completely entirely gone from the body after the last dose. So don't expect hair growth rate to zoom right back up to its former growth rate right away after your last dose, or even within the first month or two. Once you get past 3 mos post-last-dose you will suddenly look in a mirror and say "Woohoo, I finally have hair!" LOL Trust me.



I love my post-chemo hair which is a luxurious mop of thick soft shiny waves and curls (none of which I ever had before!). It is DEFINITELY worth the wait.

Susie - thanks for the encouragement! I planned an overseas trip in July based on the assumption that my hair would be passable - how wrong I was! Luckily I'm going to Africa, so headscarfs etc will see me through (if I can learn to tie the buggers)....

Lago - thanks for sharing your hair pics. Your hair grew tremendously in only 3.5 months. In the same time period I'm about 1.5 months behind you on length. Will need to up the fennel juices!

But, but, (gulp), my biggest disappointment is that my hair is mainly grey. It fell out as brown with nice blond highlights. I'm gutted. I was expecting some grey (because I'd been covering the odd grey hair with dye for several years) - but the whole head? I'm miffed. Actually, I spent ages on this bulletin board looking for posts like "my hair grew back grey, but then turned a glorious brown colour, with blond highlights." Not surprisingly, I didn't find anything.....

For those in the know, are there any safe brands of hair colour that are widely available? At four months out is it sensible to begin colouring?

Fitz33 Dark hair? Ha! After chemo it was all salt and pepper with lots of salt on the sides. My current dark hair comes in a bottle

Sydneybased I had my hair dyed professionally at 13 weeks. The first time we used Framesi. It was what I had always used in the past but it was a bit too red and just wouldn't hold with all the gray. It was a pretty shade but not what I wanted. I dont' know what brand he is using now.

My hair , which was thick, bushy and curly (and about 50% grey) before BC and chemo - grew back pepper and salt, straight, and much finer.  It definitely grew more slowly during the year of Herceptin,then took off with a vengeance after I finished.  I did not need to colour it for over a year after finishing Herceptin, and even then it was remarkable how little grey I had.

I'm 3 years out from finishing Herceptin, and I am still amazed at my fine, staight hair.  I can wear it curly if I put a lot of gel and scrunch it, but with no product, it dries fairly straight.  This finer, thinner hair could also be thanks to Tamoxifen and Femara.  I have one year left of Femara, it will be interesting to see if there is any change once I'm off it.

Sydneybased, I had the same color hair as you did pre-chemo, and my post-chemo hair is also "sabled silver" (I refuse to use the G-word, LOL!) ... same as yours. More silver framing the face, and the most brown is at the nape. Everywhere else, it's about 50% silver and 50% a blend of several different shades ranging from ash to tea-with-milk to dark-coffee. No golden tones anymore.



It took me several months to adapt to the "new" color scheme (I am not and never will be a haircolor person) but I did, slowly but surely. I ended up dumping more than 30% of my previous wardrobe though, because many things just didn't play well with my now-mature look -- which, to be honest, is simply me looking my actual age rather than X number of years younger simply as a result of the difference in hair color.



Ironically, being boobless never bothered me one bit, not even from day one, and neither did the "hairless phase"; it was the unexpected color change that was the only mental challenge I had as far as appearance. But I can honestly say I now love my hair in all respects, and only dread the day when it will start reverting to being fine and straight rather than the bouncy curls and waves that I adore (I am totally chemical-phobic, so perms are not on the table for me, LOL).



I've had several people tell me that the "sabled silver" goes better with my light eyes and pale complexion than the brown ever did, in fact.



Btw, I see you are in AU; I have a friend in Green Point, NSW. She tipped me off to a great line of Aussie-made products for hair and skin, free of the usual nasty chemicals such as parabens, sulfates, etc. Absolutely fantastic especially for post-chemo hair! The brand is called Al'chemy in Australia and NZ, and A'kin in the USA. Same items, just different names. I think they are only sold online in the USA outside of the Pacific Northwest which is where their distributor is based, but I believe they may be sold in regular stores in AU. Google search will turn up the websites of either brand name. Fantastic products, I won't use anything else on my hair from now on.

They are really worth searching out. I should have also mentioned that the actual company (manufacturer name) is Purist. I looked on the Skin Deep website you mentioned and they are listed under Purist (first result, with 52 products). The brand quoted here is A'kin but that is probably because Skin Deep is a USA-based website and so that's the only packaging they would have gotten. However the products packed under Al'chemy in AU/NZ are the same thing, just a different name.



I only use the Unscented products (shampoo, conditioner, and body wash) because I have severe fragrance allergies; those all rate a low "green #1" on the hazard scale. That's a very useful site, thanks for mentioning it!!!

Firebird. Thanks for the tips. I'll look out for these products.

Well, I went for it and dyed my half inch long hair with herbatint dye (no ammonia). In fact my husband dyed it for me. He did a good job, apart from the bits that he missed around the sides!! Shows that there's a reason to get dyeing done professionally. So battleship grey on top and lighter grey on the sides is now chestnut brown on top and at the back, with side wings that look patchy. Oh well. Sod it.