losing hair

ralph · New User Joined: 29 Mar 2005 Posts: 3

is it chemo or radiation that causes hair loss? How quickly will it return? Is it true that the eyelashes don't return for much longer than other hair?

btgoss · Regular Joined: 31 Mar 2005 Posts: 20

Hello Ralph,
Both chemo and radiation can cause hair loss.
Radiation, at least for me, caused the hair loss in the local area of the actual radiation. Which for me was both a good thing and a bad thing, since my radiation was high up on my chest, it removed all of that unsightly back hair, which was good. Unfortunatley it also removed a square shaped patch of chest hair, which just looks weird. But that is starting to come back. I had 30 treatment during October and November, and it is finally starting to come back.
For me the chemo hair loss was more widespread. I thought the worst part of that was losing my eyebrows and eyelashes, as well as my nasal hair. My nose was constantly running, and I looked like a thumb. I thought about drawing in my eyebrows, but then I always looked either surprised or angry, so that idea was out. Aside from the looks I needed to use eyedrops to help keep my eyes from stinging. It does come back, I would say within 2-3 months after I ended my main series of treatments I had regrown most of my hair. I am currently in maintenence chemo right now and I am suffering a but of hair loss, but nothing like when I had major chemo.
I would also suggest shaving your head before the chemo starts making you hair fall out. I just didn't want to have to vacuum the bed every morning.
Good luck with your treatment, and remember, loss of hair is nothing. Look at Burt Reynolds, been bald for years and it doesn't seem to bother him.

Susan · New User Joined: 26 Mar 2005 Posts: 3

hiya
I had really long, long thick hair which was my pride and joy.
It started to fall out 2 weeks after my chemo (my chemo was pretty intense).
It was on my bed, my clothes, kitchen floor and so on...... So eventually I asked my boyfriend to chop it off and then shave it, after that it was like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders, don't get me wrong, i hated losing it but so far i haven't lost my eyebrows or eyelashes and i am away to start my third chemo
good luck to you Wink

SFGiants13 · Senior User Joined: 21 Feb 2005 Posts: 115 Location: CA SF

For me it's mainly the chemo. If I can remember, in 02 I had radiation and it didn't really effect my hair or eyebrows. Early of 05 I had 4 cycles of strong chemo then n april of 05 I had high dose chemo. Eventhough my hair fell off, hwoever the good thing was that my eyebrows were still intact, probably because of the 4 cycles of chemo prior.

caryam · New User Joined: 04 Jun 2005 Posts: 9

Different types of chemo, and even different doses/schedules [i]of the same chemo[/i], can cause very different degrees of hairloss...My wife Lori lost [i]all[/i] of her hair when she was on Taxol, Cisplatin & Etoposide, as this is a very heavy regiment, but 8 months later she switched to Gemzar, which is rather mild, and her hair grew back fast; both thick and beautiful, including her eyebrows and lashes! When she was switched to Taxotere she lost all of her hair again, and now that she's on Taxol, her hair's growing back again, apparently because of the schedule (once a week instead of once every three weeks) but this time her hair is quite fine, almost like a baby's, and her eyebrows are pretty much no existent, for the time being anyway!

Hope this helps,
Good Luck

-Cary
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-Cary

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