I have done 1 round of chemo & 3 more to go for stage 1 breast cancer? What can I expect when losingmy hair?
I have very thick hair & just today am seeing it falling out or thinning. Will it start to fall out in clumps eventually or just continue to thin? Just trying to get an idea of how severe. I’m doing the TC type of chemo.
Googlesearch for “cancer support forum”. You get more than just answers there.
It varies from patient to patient. You might want to go ahead and get a god wig for when (if) you can’t stand it anymore. You will want some head covering regardless. Even in the summer your head can get really cold, the winter is worse. Good luck with your treatment, I’m praying for you.
Depends on the person but mostly it depends on the type and strength of chemo. If you are noticing your hair starting to fall out then many people decide to go ahead a shave their head to avoid the embarrassing moments of clumps falling out in public. Ask your doc what to possibly expect and go from there.I’m surprised you already havent discussed this. You may not have anything more then thinning. It’s up to you.
You are a very brave woman. I hope you don’t mind if a say a prayer to God for you.
I noticed hair loss from the lower regions first then while sitting at work, I was running my fingers through my hair and it was coming out 12 + strands at a time. I was being a little silly and tying the clumps into knots and offering “relics” to a few co-workers. That night I went home and used the electric clippers and cut it really short. I tried to shave my head, but didn’t like the drag I was feeling, even with lots of my husband’s shaving cream so I had to put up with the little tiny itchy short hairs falling out and down my back until I got up the nerve to shave my head. I wore scarves and hats. There are some really cute ones designed for chemo patients, you can search the internet for them.
Good luck. I’m praying for you.
My son had 16 months of chemotherapy. He has really thick dark blond hair. It took two or three months for the dark hair strands to fall out. He than had light blond thin hair for four or five months. It all eventually fell out naturally. He never did bother to shave it off or anything.
Whether you lose your hair or not really depends upon the type of chemotherapy you will be getting and whether that is a side effect. The last 8 months, my son had two chemo (Temodar and Irinotecan) and he did not lose any hair at all.
Unfortunately he is scheduled for two or three more months of chemo (Cytoxan and Topetecan) and the side effect is hair loss . . so . . back to the bare head, I guess. Incidentally, other than a baseball cap to stay warm or keep it from the sun he never bothered covering his head.
Good luck to you.
it depends on your hair type and your chemo. It usually goes pretty well all at once. Many women decide to pre empt the loss and get a really tight haircut or have their heads shaved. No matter how well you are prepared, it is always a shock to start losing your hair. there are a few good things about it; you can experiment with different wigs, if you always fancied a total change, but were nervous about it. The other thing is, the lack of hair will show how beautiful your face is. Many of my patients decide to keep thier short style when the hair starts to grow back. You can buy a thing called a cold cap; it is kept in the deep freeze, and ideally you should have two. you wear it during your chemo treatment, and the idea is, it freezes the blood vessels at the base of the hair follicle, preventing the chemo from affecting the hair root. It’s results vary from person to person, but it does seem to have some effect in preventing total hair loss.
I generally see it between the 1st and 2nd cycles. My patients will report a tingling sensation on their scalp and not too much later, it’s gone. It can sometimes fall out in clumps. A lot of women will just shave it off.
I’m a 25 year old that spent a year undergoing chemo. I was bald everywhere. I didn’t have to shave, pluck, wax or do any of the other unpleasant things that we have to endure. There are some amazing wigs and hats (some with hair) that are made specifically for cancer patients.
A couple of places I enjoyed were:
http://www.lookgoodfeelbetter.org (they gave me free make-up and wig while I was in the hospital doing a transplant)
http://www.hatandhair.com (their hats are a bit expensive but you can just sew velcro into ones you buy yourself and they work just as good…the hair just attaches to any hat you want it to)
Honestly, my hair’s about an inch long now and I’m not sure I WANT it back. It’s so nice to not have to fuss with it and I can have any hair color/style I want, plus tons of awesome hats. Have fun with it! Having cancer doesn’t mean you can’t keep living and looking good!
it will come out in clumps any time now