my hair is falling out in small chunks.

Hi LouMum!

My hair fell out in very large handfuls after my second AC treatment (yes, that's as unpleasant as it sounds) and it took me about 5 days to go from a full head of hair to looking like Linus from the Peanuts comics. For me, that aching, too-tight-ponytail feeling was the indication that it was starting, and it got progressively worse until all my hair was gone.

I never did buzz mine, I refused to - I had long, thick, dark hair that was halfway down my back, I dreaded losing it all, so I cut it short (for the first and only time in my life) just before I started chemo, to get used to it and to cut down on the mess when it started falling out. Just do what you're comfortable with, whatever works best for you, there's no one right way to approach this whole messy situation.

I wouldn't expect it all to fall out at once, but if your experience is anything like mine, it'll fall out progressively over the coming days. Maybe try not to handle it too much or brush it too roughly if you need it to hang on a little longer - when mine started to fall out, it mostly came out in clumps when I combed it or ran my hands through it.

I'm sorry to hear that you're going through this just before your wedding!! I hope you can hang on to your hair for a few more days.

I didn't lose my eyelashes and eyebrows until halfway through my four Taxol treatments (the AC didn't affect them at all), so I would think yours are safe for now.

(Also, despite all info to the contrary, my eyebrows and eyelashes started coming back very quickly after I finished chemo, so they're not always slow to come back.)

I hope your wedding is everything you dreamed it would be, despite this whole cancer mess.