The Colon Club

I read an article somewhere along the line that suggested that Rogaine actually worked to grow or maintain hair in patients who were going through chemo.

I figured it was worth a shot and bought the generic version to try out. I started in early July, about the same time that I was on a chemo break to prep for my liver resection on July 17. I used it daily for a while, then kind of missed a few weeks around my surgery, and I would say I resumed "spotty" usage thereafter.

Well I got my hair cut last week, and the stylist held up my hair for me - I could clearly see an inch or so of new growth - after which the hair thinned substantially. In some areas, the new growth is curly! I am also realizing that the two areas that were looking bald (I used to brush a little eyebrow powder there to cover it up) were now pretty thickly covered in new hair. I definitely focused the Rogaine there when I was applying.

I'm almost through my second round of chemo since my break, and my hair does not seem to be falling out. I guess I'll keep going with the Rogaine!

I found this article, which seems to indicate that once you start Rogaine, you have to take it for the rest of your life. Something to be aware of!

http://herwaroncancer.com/taxotere/side ... oss-cured/

Claudine wrote:I found this article, which seems to indicate that once you start Rogaine, you have to take it for the rest of your life. Something to be aware of!

http://herwaroncancer.com/taxotere/side ... oss-cured/

Rest of your life, what?? Um, that’s a pretty significant drawback, WTF? Clearly I need to do some research here!!!

I know!!! I was going to suggest it to my husband but now I think we're just going to wait and see. I've gotten quite used to seeing him with thin (but so soft!) hair and beard anyway...

Claudine wrote:I know!!! I was going to suggest it to my husband but now I think we're just going to wait and see. I've gotten quite used to seeing him with thin (but so soft!) hair and beard anyway...

I am not sure whether this is true or not. I think the "rest of your life" applies to people who are losing their hair in a normal context. In that case, the point is that the benefit of Rogaine is only maintained if you maintain its use. That makes sense. The article below makes me think that it may not be true for situations outside of "normal" premature hair loss, like chemo.

https://donovanmedical.com/hair-blog/20 ... se-forever

I'm not reading anything that suggests that somehow Rogaine messes up or changes your hair follicles permanently once you use it...certainly interested to read anything to that end if you find it!

Well, things are pretty unclear I agree! The article I cited has this line, "But Rogaine comes with a really big drawback. You have to use it twice a day, every day, for the rest of your life. Stop using the drug and your hair will fall out." On a post from the Mayo clinic, it says "If hair growth is going to occur with the use of minoxidil, it usually occurs after the medicine has been used for several months and lasts only as long as the medicine continues to be used. Hair loss will begin again within a few months after minoxidil treatment is stopped."

But it seems that in both cases it may be in relation to "normal" hair loss, so I'm not sure what it really means in terms of chemo patients! meanwhile, if your hair is growing back, that's awesome!!

I used rogaine for a few months. It works great but you do have to keep using it. When I stopped, my hair loss was more than before I had started using it. I’m now on a hair supplement called halo beauty. I’ve had amazing results with regrowth. My hair grows faster than ever before. It took a year though to grow out the loss caused by the rogaine. My advice would be to plan on staying on the rogaine indefinitely.

ginabeewell wrote:I read an article somewhere along the line that suggested that Rogaine actually worked to grow or maintain hair in patients who were going through chemo.

I figured it was worth a shot and bought the generic version to try out. I started in early July, about the same time that I was on a chemo break to prep for my liver resection on July 17. I used it daily for a while, then kind of missed a few weeks around my surgery, and I would say I resumed "spotty" usage thereafter.

Well I got my hair cut last week, and the stylist held up my hair for me - I could clearly see an inch or so of new growth - after which the hair thinned substantially. In some areas, the new growth is curly! I am also realizing that the two areas that were looking bald (I used to brush a little eyebrow powder there to cover it up) were now pretty thickly covered in new hair. I definitely focused the Rogaine there when I was applying.

I'm almost through my second round of chemo since my break, and my hair does not seem to be falling out. I guess I'll keep going with the Rogaine!

Thanks for sharing this tip with everyone!

Having your hair fall out is one of the most demeaning things about cancer. I hated seeing all the hairs on my pillow in the morning and in the drain in the shower. I wore a lot of cashmere beanies!

Also, I worried if my hair would come back when I stopped chemo because I'd heard a few negative stories. But on the first visit to my stylist six weeks after stopping chemo she said she could see "a forest" of little hairs coming in on my scalp. Since they were so much shorter than my hair they gave it a kind of a puffy, lumpy appearance for awhile!

But my hair really did come back so keep thinking about that. It's important to realize most side-effects are temporary. In fact I kept repeating "this is temporary" as a kind of mantra for all the skin, hair, nail, etc. problems I had throughout treatment. My integrative doc recommended 10,000 mcg of Biotin as a supplement when I was done with chemo. I didn't take it at first, but when I did I definitely noticed an increase in hair growth. You can store that advice away for when you're done!

Hey, did you start your blog? I think you'd make a great blogger!

Hugs,
Juliej

Okay, my situation was different, stage III, FOLFOX only. My hair turned a complete FRIZZY. thinner yes, but frizzy "big time". My pre teen daughter was a bit embarrassed tp be seem with me. I remember talking to a women while getting chemo. She was dealing with breast cancer and had lost all of her hair. As a mother, she could relate to my daughter's situation, but as a female cancer patient, she would have given her eye teeth for my "frizzy hair". She had none, I had frizzy hair. It's amazing sometimes the common ground you will find with other cancer patient. that was NOT a conversation I could have had with a non cancer patient and expect them to understand.

I was about 6 months out following my chemo treatment when my hairdresser said I can cut this frizz off. Yes your hair will be shorter, but the fizz will be gone. I told her to do it. It was a major milestone for me.

Lee

Lee wrote:Okay, my situation was different, stage III, FOLFOX only. My hair turned a complete FRIZZY. thinner yes, but frizzy "big time". My pre teen daughter was a bit embarrassed tp be seem with me.

Mine has thinned AND is getting frizzy. When I wake up in the morning I look just like Albert Einstein!!

I had been working the clip on ponytail, but this past weekend I got sick of it and asked my stylist to cut off a few inches. It’s just long enough to pull back, and I can wear it down. The extra body I’ve got from the (maybe) Rogaine helps to make it work.

But now I’m on the fence about whether to stick with Rogaine or not. I’m not up for lifetime commitment when Julie’s exactly right - this is just temporary!

My hair thinned a lot on FOLFOX. I think I probably lost about half of it. Luckily for me, it was evenly all over, so I didn't have to contend with bald spots. I just kept brushing it back. (My normal hair was a bob an inch or so below shoulder length.) What has happened since is that it has grown back a couple of inches, so it is pretty thick near my scalp but thinner farther out, so it sticks up and out in places. In the morning I definitely get the Einstein effect. Or maybe a 70s hair band. A few months ago, I got my son to whack off 4 or 5 inches with the dog grooming comb and scissors, because that part was really thin. Now I think I may have sufficient hair to get a quasi-real hair cut. But I really, really do not want short hair.

My hair is kind of a wild mop. I definitely have the frizz. But I just keep brushing it back.

FWIW, at the cancer center they told me that the FOLFOX thinning seems to slow down or stop at about the 8th infusion for a lot of people. Then at some point it starts growing back. So your regrowth could be due to rogaine, or not.

ginabeewell wrote:

Lee wrote:Okay, my situation was different, stage III, FOLFOX only. My hair turned a complete FRIZZY. thinner yes, but frizzy "big time". My pre teen daughter was a bit embarrassed tp be seem with me.

Mine has thinned AND is getting frizzy. When I wake up in the morning I look just like Albert Einstein!!

I had been working the clip on ponytail, but this past weekend I got sick of it and asked my stylist to cut off a few inches. It’s just long enough to pull back, and I can wear it down. The extra body I’ve got from the (maybe) Rogaine helps to make it work.

But now I’m on the fence about whether to stick with Rogaine or not. I’m not up for lifetime commitment when Julie’s exactly right - this is just temporary!

Yes it is temporary, About 6 months finishing chemo, I had my hair cut short, no more Frizzy

good luck,

Lee

I was using Rogaine a few years ago, just because I'm vain and I figured it would give me super-thick, luscious hair. Well, I never got to see it to fruition because it gave me a HORRIBLY itchy scalp. People probably thought I had lice. I just couldn't stand the itching anymore, and I had to stop using it.

Are you still using it?

I've buzzed my head and embraced the bald. I don't even hate it. I was concerned that it would make me look sick or make the kids uncomfortable. Those goobers are constantly rubbing my head and there are plenty of bald jokes to go around.

AmyG wrote:Are you still using it?

I've buzzed my head and embraced the bald. I don't even hate it. I was concerned that it would make me look sick or make the kids uncomfortable. Those goobers are constantly rubbing my head and there are plenty of bald jokes to go around.

I often thought about going "Amber Rose" and just wearing wigs. It would be cool to have a different look every day. And it would be so easy to just rub my head with a towel after showering. But I'm too scared to see what I'd look like bald. It may not suit me. And in theory, I'd put on a different wig each morning. Tailor my makeup to the color of the wig, and look like a million dollars. In reality, I'd be waking up sluggish and hoping to get my son to school on time, and I'd be throwing on a baseball cap with leftover mascara below my eyes from the previous day. I'm just SO not a morning person.