Abraxane

Hi Kandy, they told me that too...about it thinning and not everyone looses it....well it was a beautiful day and i went out shopping with DD to a lovely outdoor mall. I bought a new scarf that day just in case cuz I was a first timer...went to the ladies room...ran my fingers thru my hair...here comes the walking dead!!... it came out in handfuls!...It wouldn't stop (and I had just shampooed that morning) I was filling up the trash!!...my eyes were filling with tears... I couldn't get the scarf on without pulling loose more hair...a angel walked up and said..."let me help you" she tied it on, it looked great..then when I told my daughter about what happened we laughed our heads off on what a site I must have been...we still laugh about it...I wish you much better luck than me

Kandy, yes at first it was a shock but it really was kinda funny when I told the story... I kept thinking bout the poor cleaning lady, she must have thought someone changed their identity in there...and the ladies walking past must have thought I was contagious...and when I got home and shaved the rest, I thought yup kinda funny I have to admit that I'm typically very vain and I know just what you mean about liking how you look and feeling better. I couldn't wear a wig, my head was to tender and I missed my eyelashes the most. Something told me that this was just part of it and if I was gonna pull off this new look I better act like it doesn't bother me. I know, it's a goofy way to think and I'm so sorry if any thing I've said bothered you. I sincerely hope you don't loose a strand and that you breeze right thru this. You've been in my prayers all day.

the trial drug is atezolizumab. Technically I could also be getting a placebo but we have lots of evidence that I'm not.

My hair is long gone. I can say it doesn't bother me too much, but the eyebrows and eyelashes do. I spend more time trying to paint on some eyebrows now that I ever did doing my hair.

Good luck with the abraxane

Kandy, I have just started Taxol - three weeks on, one week off. Had my second infusion today. I was slated to start Abraxane but then wound up in a clinical trial for Taxol so we changed horses at the last minute. Since the two drugs are essentially the same except for a solvent in Taxol that is not in Abraxane, I think I will tag along with you here if that's okay.

I'm watching my hair like a hawk. It's my one major vanity. I'll be honest, I have really good, thick hair with lots of body, and it is kind of my trademark, you know? I bought a wig last weekend and a couple of cute caps, and I have a lifelong collection of beautiful scarves, so at least I feel prepared now. That does help. Maybe go wig shopping with a friend, if you can? Get your onc to write a script for it. I took my young, stylish adult daughters and let them pick out the right wig for me-- they know what looks good on me. We can't change what is going to happen anyway, and probably soon. But you might be surprised how much better you feel about things with a pretty long wig on standby.

Kandy, thanks, I think I will hang here with you. Some of us Taxol metsters are trying to rustle up some new activity on the "Weekly Taxol for Stage IV" thread. You should add it to your favorites, too. Can't hurt to have more camaraderie, right?

I've never worn a wig before so I'm really dreading it. I have a large head (I can never, ever wear women's hats) so I had to insist on trying only the wigs that came in large. I could seriously tell a difference when the gal plopped an average size wig on my head-- yowzer, so uncomfortable. So maybe you could try a large wig and see if that's better for you.

Hard to tell whether I'm having side effects from Taxol because I have a lot of other challenges going on right now while I'm getting started on it. I was just released from a weeklong stay in the hospital because I developed a malignant pericardial effusion that dang near took me down. Had a catheter surgically inserted, drained off a big jug of junk, and now I'm trying to regain my ability to breathe on my own-- the pressure from the effusion caused some lung collapse and also caused some pleural effusion from the inflammation. I've been on oxygen for over two weeks now. So if I have side effects from Taxol, who could tell? LOL

Right now tonight I'm navigating the lovely steroid crash from Thursday's infusion. Ay ay ay ay ay. I really hate steroids. Do you get them with Abraxane?

Kandy-I too had terrible allergic reactions to taxotere and taxol. I started Abraxane weekly on Monday 1/30 and was so relieved to have no reaction other than some mild joint pains and an increased heart rate (still within normal range) for a few days. I am also having a Pergita/Herceptin combo every 3 weeks.

hi Kandy & other BC sisters, I am starting Halaven tomorrow, but will ask my dr about abraxane. Halaven sounds similar to abraxane. Nan your hair loss experience would have made me cry too, & later I usually laugh at myself for getting so upset over things I have no control over. Kandy, like you, in 09 I went bald overnight. When I came out of my bedroom for breakfast and the shocked look on my 5 sons' faces were priceless, I had to laugh, which seemed to make them feel better. There is something about a bald head to make your dx real. I too hate wigs & am way more anxious this time thinking about it. I wore a pink, Uni of Florida ball cap mostly, I don't remember who gave it to me, but it turned out to be my favorite. I elected to wear it over a wig to my 20 yr HS reunion.

My poor oncologist is probably going to drop me as a patient as I question her every move.

I lost so much hair after my 4th Abraxane infusion that I just had my husband buzz off the rest. I'm finding that people are so nice and apologize for anything when your bald, it's very odd. I am currently having issues with food tasting bad but it's manageable. Everyone else doing ok?