Hi there
so ladies… when you start the chemo … if your hair fall’s out, when can i expect it to happen ?? is it after the first session ???
sal x
mine started after 2nd-- came out in handfuls so took decision to shave it all off, although some people only lose some hair ,not all
Mary
xx
Sal
I’m glad you’ve asked that question, i feel that i’ve handled 2 op’s and all the tests resonably well but the chemo is a different thing, i feel worried about that as i was told i WILL loose my hair. i met a lovely lady at the onc dept when i was getting shown wigs and i never knew she had one on it looked so real, anyway she was going to pulls hers off but i stopped her as i don’t feel ready to face ‘my future’ yet, does that make sence? i think as long as there are place/sites like this where we can all come and speak to others going through the same things and feeling the same feelings then we will get through it together. we will be strangers at first but friends later.
Hey Ann
when they say you may loose your hair at the time you dont seem to care… because you just want that cancer to be gone… when they said it to me i felt as if i did’nt care as long as i was going to be ok…if that make’s any sence… but now i know it near by, i’m thinking oh my god… what the hell am i going to look like…i keep thinking i will look like demi moore on { j i jane ]
well there’s nothing wrong with thinking it …i dont know, that if my hair starts to fall out as i’m a hairdresser to just pop into my shop and have it shaved off… then i don’t know if i want to get a wig or just wear scarf 's …
sal xx
Sal
i felt exactly like that and yes what you said does make sence - not caring if i loose my hair, just wanting rid of the cancer.
so now while i still want rid of the cancer i don’t know how i’m going to cope with being bald. i have people like friends and family telling me how well i’m coping but they don’t really know or understand and i really do appreciate their support but i’m the one thats going to have no hair for months. i have spoke to my OH and have decided that when it starts coming out he will get the cutters out and shave it for me. i’ll have a wig but i’ll stil get a bandana just incase i change my mind about the wig.
Hi Vodka
I did exactly that and we both cried- he said it was so unfair -and found it as difficult as me it took me about an hour before I could look at myself in a mirror but was pleasantly surprised.I have a good wig and people are shocked when I tell them
I finished chemo early March and now have mad fluff,
Take Care
Mary
xx
Hi to those who are preparing for hair loss - it’s something that obviously bothers most women a lot as there are many threads dealing with it. There’s one that’s fairly current, started by FizBix, called something like ‘so who still has hair’ where a lot of us describe different stages - mostly with humour. It’s worth a read for the info content as well as the laughs. It does seem horrible before it happens but, like everything else, people seem to come to terms with it at much the same speed as they lose it. And not all lose it, so you have periods of thinking, maybe I’ll be one of the lucky ones… Mine had been pretty much waist-length for 30 years so I had it cut before my op to shoulders to prepare & then got son to shave it to about a cm the day before first chemo (unfortunately I didn’t look anything like Demi Moore afterwards - more like female wrestler). It thinned to the point where my scalp is very visible over a couple of days just before the second treatment. Inevitable tears, but it passes. Like lots of women, I have a wig, but can’t be bothered - scarves are so much more comfortable. Start wearing them while you still have hair - they are a great fashion accessory 
M-L
Hi, when i was told i would loose my hair i got myself lots of great hats and scarves and was prepared… until it started to fall out, i cried for england that day.my hair has never been my crowning glory but i was so upset. 2 weeks later i have no hair as my sister shaved it off. I love my scarves and hats and feel them to be a big part of me now. The only thing i found hard was i felt i looked like a cancer victim when i first looked in the mirror! and i am no victim!
Dont wear my wig at all, i have had it trimmed to suit my face but it feels so false and unnatural
So to anyone about to loose there hair remember we all deal with things in different ways…and i think how ever prepared you think you are its still very hard to deal with.
Glad to hear your ok emelle, lost the thread that we first chatted on! think the chemo has killed a few brain cells ha ha
love jo x
Hi
i am thinking hard about just poping into the salon and have a number 5 all over
the day i start my chemo???
is that a good advive??? ???
sal x
You have to what is comfortable for you.I waited until definate signs of it coming out, its a very personal thing
Take Care
Mary
x
Hi Sal
i agree with Mary, i’m going to wait until it starts to come out before i get it al shaved off. My bcn phoned today with a list of appointments and my chemo one is on June 11th - but that depends on the amount of fluid i have to get drained. when are you due to start chemo?
Ann x
me and the chap went to hairdresser when mine started falling out… i had a no 2 …my hairdresser of 15 years was almost crying as she said - at least u have a nice shaped head… gareth doesn’t seem too bothered… tho he’s now having to get used to me growing hair again.It is still me even if i look like a fluffy egg!
Chemo is chemo… is hard on some of us but ok for others… i was an other but i wish everyone could be liek me
all the best
jen xxx
Hi Ann
yea i know what you mean … i should wait till it fall’s out but i think …i want to be in charge of my hair if that make’s any sence…
i wll chicken out i specked… and wait till it fall’s out
got to pop down to the cancer unit tomorrow to check if my boobie need’s draining again, as it look’s swollen again… more pain to go through…
bought a bed hat today just in case, don’t want my hubby to have a night mare if he wakes up and see’e a bold head next to him … lol
sal x
Thanks to mary and jen for your reply’s
nice to have other people’s feed back
keep’s me ticking on
sal x
I’m having Epi-CMF, just had the third Epi and have used the cold cap each time. Cut hair to collar length before starting chemo and it has certainly thinned, but only the family and I would notice. It loosened 16 days after the first chemo, coming out in the comb, so I just comb it less. Disgusting as it sounds, I wash it only every 4-5 days in organic baby shampoo, comb through once and leave to dry naturally, and comb it only once daily. None has fallen without being pulled. The cold cap upset me a bit last time but felt below par anyway and I’ll use it again for the 4th and last Epi. I get the impression it’s not necessary during CMF. My onc said different drugs have different effects and the hair would definitely go if I were to have Taxotere. I didn’t shave it, determined to hang on as long as possible, reasoning that if it did all go then it was going to be a long time short!
Good luck,
Lyn xxxx
palomino98
Hi there glad that you are haning on to your hair make’s a differance i think… as you say you will be a long time short…
it was’nt long ago i had my hair cut to a bob from very long… now im thinking ho god im going to have to go shorter… i was going to have it shaved befor chemo but i think i will wait to see if it does fall out…
then i will get it shaved grade4 i think…
well hope all go’s well for you
best of luck
sal x
I’m seeing my onc for the 1st time tomorrow, and will find out then when my chemo starts. Have been feeling ok about it all, but now starting to panic. My girls aged 4 and 2 love my hair and often brush it for me; it is waist length. My husband has only ever known me with long hair, but he has said several times that he’d like to see me with a bob, so maybe I’ll go for that in the first instance.
I am a barrister, and someone did suggest that I just wear my Court wig!!!
I’m finding it all a but terrifying at the mo.
Kinden
x