New to board-Hair Question

Please feel free to read, share your thoughts, your stories and connect with others!
klryder02
Posts: 608
Joined: Wed Dec 20, 2006 11:22 pm
Location: Dallas-Ft. Worth

New to board-Hair Question

Postby klryder02 » Wed Dec 20, 2006 11:28 pm

Hello-

I just found this board today!! Finally someone who isn't 60!

Anyway, I have my third round of chemo tomorrow (folfox + Avastin) and wanted to know others experiences with losing hair.

Did you lose your hair? How many rounds did you go through before it happened?

My dr. said on Tuesday that if I haven't lost it by now..I probably won't. But, I am slowly seeing more strands come out than normal, so I am starting to worry.

Thanks!
29, stage IV, diagnosed Oct. 2006, currently on Oxaliplatin, 5-FU, and Vectibix.
http://youcantcontrolrandom.blogspot.com/

missjv
Posts: 1416
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 10:38 am
Location: FLORIDA

hair

Postby missjv » Thu Dec 21, 2006 2:36 pm

hi,
i have been off chemo since october and my hair is still really thinning out. i have not lost it just thinning so i guess the stuff must stay in your system. i start chemo again in january for 5 m onths and im interested too see what happens to my hair this time.

missjv

MissKim
Posts: 162
Joined: Tue Oct 31, 2006 3:06 pm
Location: Idaho Falls, ID

Postby MissKim » Thu Dec 21, 2006 2:41 pm

I did FOLFOX with Avastin and did not lose my hair -- just some slight thinning. However, I did lose my hair with Erbitux and Camptosar. Hopefully, you will just experience thinning because it is really cold in the winter without hair, especially in Idaho :lol: ! Good luck to you!

Miss Kim

Mom2nTn
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Oct 02, 2006 7:48 pm
Location: Knoxville, TN

Hair

Postby Mom2nTn » Sat Dec 23, 2006 9:02 am

I'm currently on 5FU/Leucovorin and have had my hair *really* become thin. So this week, I took the clippers and buzzed it all off, now I look like I have a buzz cut, not bald but fuzzy!

I figure it's only hair and will, eventually, grow back!

Carol B

missjv
Posts: 1416
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 10:38 am
Location: FLORIDA

Postby missjv » Sat Dec 23, 2006 10:20 am

hi,
your right it is just hair it will grow back. have you tried a wig yet? they can do amazing things with wigs and you can't even tell it is a wig, they measure them to your face and head and can do all kinds of cuts.

missjv

Magnolia
Posts: 1514
Joined: Fri Jul 14, 2006 2:38 pm
Location: Virginia

Postby Magnolia » Sat Dec 23, 2006 4:43 pm

I'm not 60. I'm only 52 and I think I'm the oldest poster on this board! I was on FOLFOX with Avastin and my hair thinned quite a bit. It was never thick to begin with, so when it thinned out I opted to cut it short and buy a wig. I got a nice wig and I'm very happy with it. My hair is growing back in nice and thick now, but the color is really funny. It's dark on the sides and back, and snow white on top. I looked like a skunk for a while until I found a nice color that approximated my pre-chemo color and took evenly (almost) all over. I still wear the wig to go out, but I don't have to. I have enough hair to get by. I just love my wig.

Guest

Postby Guest » Sat Dec 23, 2006 5:20 pm

my hair was long so when it started coming out i just cut it all off and donated it to Locks of Love...it's only hair! plus, you can't highlight it until like 2 months after chemo...who wants their roots showing really ; )

I'm on the same stuff and at round 10. it didnt' really start coming out till like round 3 when i saw the first bunch...i was 'shedding' like 3 x's as much before that. i didnt' know how much i was going to lose so that's why i shaved it. get some fun wigs...i got a red and blonde one (ok blondes do have more fun i had to see which one had more fun) ;) get some hats/do rags/turban things. have fun with it.

my hair is thinner but it's growing back like crazy at the same time. and it's also defying gravity by STICKING STRAIGHT UP! i was seriously wanting blonde highlights but that's not happening ; ) it's about the same color as it was before. now that my hair is growing back some more i've been just going around with my hair short...which is still uber weird for me but people seem to like it!

survivormike06
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2006 1:54 pm

My Experience

Postby survivormike06 » Sat Dec 23, 2006 9:10 pm

I took the same regiment for 12 treatments, I lost my eyebrows, hair on my legs, and thining crown. Feb 07 will be 1 year that I wilatl be away from chemo. I am not that concerned about the hair issue for me as I am happy to be alive and blessed to see another day.

However, be aware that chemo can affect your sight, my right eye was not correctable for the longest time to 20/20 with glasses until recently, I can thank chemo for screwing that up. Also, it has messed my hearing up.

Just let time take its course to get the chemo toxins out of your system. Hair to me is a vanity, life to me is a necessity.

Have a very Merry Christmas and a Healthy New Years. Michael (survivormike06)
We Think We Got It All. Your color looks good also,

tennislover
Posts: 16
Joined: Fri Jun 02, 2006 9:35 pm
Location: Discovery Bay, CA
Contact:

Hair Thinning

Postby tennislover » Sat Dec 23, 2006 10:30 pm

Hey there! I am 29 and have been doing Folfox for about 5 months. I had long blonde thick beautiful hair. Now I have thin, short and chemicaly damaged hair. It has thinned out so much, I cut it short but I think the chemo damages the hair. It looks fried, thats the best way I can put it. Every morning I would try to do something with it and I would end up leaving the house upset and feeling very ugly. I finaly had enough and I went out and bought a wig. I am so glad that I did it. I didnt realize how much of a difference it made to look in the mirror and see healthy hair. It is a personal choice but for me it made a huge difference in my self esteem. No one can tell that it is a wig. I hope that this helps some.

User avatar
cynnycal
Posts: 215
Joined: Thu Apr 06, 2006 5:45 pm
Location: chicago

Postby cynnycal » Mon Dec 25, 2006 2:55 pm

first time around (with six rounds of folfox and avastin) my hair thinned out like crazy, and yes, it looked just plain fried. (but then again i had literally just bleached my hair blonde for the first time ever literally a month before getting diagnosed. which is alot of stress for dark hair to go that light. so it was already damaged)
this time around (just bout four months i've been off chemo, now i'm back on) more folfox and avastin, i'll be doing round four next week, i haven't noticed as much thinning this time. although maybe it just never really grew back from before.
however, it does not look as fried as it did, i got a trim and got it colored back to my natural dark shade when i was off chemo, so i think that helps to make it look healthier.
i try to do as little as possible to it. i barely comb it (if at all), i wash it as little as possible (but for me i can only really get away with washing it every other day b/c its so fine it starts looking very greasy quickly) i don't 'style' it really, i don't put product in it. i try using heavy conditioners since i feel the drugs really dry it out. and i use 'restorative' shampoos (pantene pro-v restorative for chemically damaged hair works fairly well)
but all in all, i know that is all superficial. i mean, hair is already dead when it's grown out. so it's kinda pointless.
but whatever, i'll still keep trying
it'd be a wonderful awesome surprise if it would start growing back in thicker than before and wavy! after all this, it'd be a nice treat to get good looking hair after. ah..wishes.
b


Return to “Colon Talk - Colon cancer (colorectal cancer) support forum”



Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Google [Bot] and 141 guests