I have had long hair since I was 10 years old and I found it very hard having my hair cut off this week. My family were happily surprised that I looked good with short hair. My next big thing is going bald! I find it odd that losing a breast was less painful. maybe I’m too vain!!
When I was dx with BC in Jan this year I was told I would probably require chemo and rads … the thing I dreaded most was losing my hair. I think hair loss is something that makes cancer patients stand out in a crowd so perhaps it’s the one thing we all dread. I was lucky to not need chemo and moved on to just having rads.
Good luck with the chemo.
I still have rads and hormone to go after the chemo. But I don’t know how the family will cope with bald eyes etc. My answer is false eye lashes and eyebrow pencil. My son said to me the other day ‘it won’t make much difference when your eyebrows go because you are so fair anyway we could never see them if you didnot pencil them in’ Still never mind I’ll get over this and live for years. The docs have given me a good 10yrs, much more than I expected! The good news is I’m a new Grandma, I have an 8wk old grandson who is wonderful. I drove myself on a 8 hour round trip to see my Grandson 5 days post op. Even the doctors took a sharp in take of breath.
glad to hear that u are determined to beat this and live for a while longer … I have decided that I am going to live til I am 89 and 3/4s minimum (I’m 40 now) I just hope that the pension improves a bit in the next couple of decades.
Hi denb4be,
You are not being vain. The rotten thing about the treatment we have for bc is that it seems designed to take everything feminine away from us, and I found that so difficult to come to terms with. First the (in my case) mastectomy, which although physically painless, affected me emotionally a great deal, secondly the loss of hair/eyebrows/lashes and body hair everywhere else, and then the tablets to suppress any remaining female hormones! Wanting to look and feel womanly isn’t vain, and it’s totally understandable that we shed tears over what we see as the loss of a big part of it.
However, being women, we make the best of it, stick on the wigs/nice hats/pretty scarves and plenty of make-up and get on with our lives. Somehow we find the strength to get through all this, and hopefully come out triumphant at the end knowing that we have done all we can do to zap the bu**er to high heaven.
Treat yourself to some nice cosmetics and some lovely scarves and hats, even some new outfits if the budget runs to it. You will get through this, and this time next year, you will be cursing bad hair days again!
Good luck with your treatment xxxx
Hi denb4be
Congratulations on being a grandma! I finish my chemo on the day you start and though it feels like a long time in coming, I did it!
I was lucky enough to be one of those that despite feeling sick and tired on some days, I still went out, plastered on the slap and
bared my bald head for all to see.
I have very little hair left for eyebrows and eyelashes apart from a few brave soldiers that are clinging on for dear life. But I pencilled in
the brows and have also had eyelashes stuck on every now and then. The eyelashes are stuck on individually but is a very quick process
and costs about £12 in London. Well worth it when you want to go out and feel a bit normal.
I recommend lookgoodfeelbetter.co.uk/. You can attend a session, get professional advice on how to make the most of whats left 
and get small lovely products to take home as well.
Good luck with your chemo. The cancer trip is a long journey and for most of us the chemo is just a part of it but it helped me to focus on one stage at a time.
Be thinking of you
Nardy
i can so emphathise with you on this one ! i had long hair as well ,and after my first chemo it started to come out ,usually in the bath ! so had it cut short first and hated it!1 then my daughter buzzed it off for me one afternoon and boy we were both in floods of tears ,i was very vain about my hair i can tell you and it was worse than losing a boob . well i got loads of bandanas and scarfs and little beach sarongs with beads and sequins on ,and everyone loved the look . now ive just had my 2 hair cut and my hair cam in really dark and thinker than before .good luck with every thing ,it will grow back ! lynn x
I had my first chemotherapy just under 2 weeks ago and haven’t yet lost my hair. I have a really nice wig ready and waiting
- not sure how I’ll feel when the hair starts to fall out, my family as trying to persuade me to have my head shaved. I don’t think I’m ready to do that yet. Funny thing is in the past whenever I’ve washed my hair I’ve always announced ‘just going to wash my wig!’
Hi Katie,
I had my first FEC chemo 3rd April, and had the wig etc all waiting. My 15 yr old daughter was traumatised by finding my hair everywhere, so I cut it down to a bristle. Bizarrely, I felt I was taking command of when I was going to lose my hair. After 2nd chemo 24th April, I thought what was left of my hair looked awful on Saturday past - all thready and making me look ill, so I shaved what was left off. I have had a few wig outings now, and today was much too hot in the wig at a friends house, so I went “commando”… and I actually liked it! I’m hoping I’ll have the confidence to do that a lot - it’s quite liberating! And saves so much time in the morning!!
It’s up to you when/if you shave it off. The decision must be yours, it’s empowering to you. Don’t do what other people want, as it’s just taking away even more control over this horrible situation for you. I hope my experience will help you decide what YOU want to do about YOUR hair.
Sue
oops - that was to Anne - via Katie (argh - chemo brain!)
I cried more over losing my hair than I did about losing my breast. I had long hair all my life too, Oh,except for when I was 8 when I had it cut short and then got called ‘son’ on a regular basis so grew it back again!
I didn’t start losing mine until a week or 2 after having my 2nd dose of chemo. I went and had it cut shorter as a stepping stone for myself and my hairdresser saved me a piece of it in an envelope to keep, which I thought was really nice of her. I kept expecting it to come out all in one go and kept checking my pillow every morning expecting to find a big clump of it. At first it came out slowly and then when it did start to come out a bit faster I sent for the clippers and went off into the bathroom to shave it in private.
I got used to being bald quite fast and even found some plus points to it like being able to submerge my head in the bath and not worry about hours of drying and straightening. Since it has grown back I have found that I am much more adventurous too, trying out lots of different cuts and colours. Mine came back darker than it was before and straighter too which is great as it means less straightening work for me now.
We are all with you xxx
I too had long hair since for ever, and when i was going in for my surgery, already knowing I would have chemo later, someone suggested having it cut to make it easier to manage, but I really didn’t want to cut it until I felt the need. I had my surgery in Sept 06 and didn’t have to cut my hair till the November when it really started to come out.
I needed to decide for myself what to do with it. It has been growing back for around 11 months now, and people have said it suits me short, but I am growing it long again, as it wasn’t my choice to have it short and its not me without my long hair.
Luckily it has grown back thick and even more curly than before, and is around 6 inch now. Still feels short, but I was just walking home from work, and enjoying the wind blowing it about., and remembering when I was bald.
I love having enough for a bad hair day as well!
Best wishes to all at every stage of hair loss/growth.
Love Deborahxx
Hi Sue
Just to let you know you can edit your own posts, if you click on the edit in the top right hand corner of a post this will let you then change your post.
Best wishes
Katie
Hi ya
I getting used to the short hair now and I quite like it, I started my chemo yesterday and am trying the cooling cap. I thought I might as well try it! It may save some of my hair if not I was going to loose it anyway. I am on the tact2 trails so I only have 3 more chemos to go and (all going well) I should finish on the 10th of june. I’m going to the wig clinic on Friday just to see what they say. My ex-husband has already brought me a wig and all of the bits to with it so I’m being well looked after in the hair department. Well must be off now chat again soon
Take care
Denise
Can someone tell me why i’m loosing some of my hair and i’ve not started my chemo yet? when i brush my hair i have hair over my blouse. i get out of bed and hair is on my pillow. i’m not talking about a few strands, it is quite a bit. could this be stress or cancer? also if i’m going to loose my hair where can i get a decent head square?
Hi Vodka,
Have you heard about BCC’s Headstrong service? The service provides information and practical advice on headwear for anyone experiencing hair loss as a result of cancer treatment. If you call 0845 077 1893 you can find out more about booking an appointment or alternatively if you call the helpline (0808 800 6000) they’ll be able to tell you if there’s a Headstrong service in the area where you live, or the one nearest to you. Hope this helps.
Regards,
Jo, Facilitator
thanks for that Joe, but my hair seems to be coming out before my chemo.i won’t get my chemo until after my second op. but i was wondering if worry/stress of all the tests and everything have anything to do with it.
Ann x
Hi Vodka
I don’t know why you are losing your hair before chemo, it might be the stress or it might just be that you are more alerted to hair loss as you are expecting it to happen - before I had BC I often commented that I was surprised I wasn’t bald the amount of hair I left on my brush every day and my boyfriend used to comment that there was always quite a lot on his pillow or just on his carpets when he hoovered after I’d been to his flat! Women with long hair do lose a lot of hairs all the time but it’s not always something we are conscious of.
I can recommend Tie Rack for headsquares, they do LOADS of them (big silky ones) they feel nice on my scalp and they come in lots of lovely shades and designs. When I was about to start chemo I looked at some of the sites linked to this one, and I got a plain black head square from headcovers.com but it made me look like an old italian mama, LOL! The nice big silky colourful ones make me feel quite glamourous and I have lots of them to compliment different outfits. They are only 5.99 but if you get two it’s a tenner!
good idea to buy a few scarves before chemo so you are prepared. I also got a wig from Direct Wigs (website linked on this one) and they were SO helpful.
good luck chick
Just a quickie to say to anyone reading this that you may not lose your all your hair - it may just go very thin
I know of at least 2 others who stiill have “hair” like me - we have a quarter or a half left
it’s not “hair as we know it” so don’t get too excited - very short but hair none the less
I also have a quarter of my eyelashes and nearly all of my eyebrows
i lost 80% of my pubic hair (100% right underneath) but this is now coming back
I also have at the ready wigs, turbans (look like i came out of a 60’s bathroom!) and some we willie winkie hats
I have had 4 x FEC and am now on 4 x Tax
one of the wigs is very nice and once I’m all better I may even wear it out for an evening - out of choice !
lots of lov
FizBix xxxxx
PS I have always desperately wanted curly hair - so am reallly really hoping for some curly regrowth!
HI,
I too must be vain as i was not too upset after my mastectomy but the thought of losing my hair felt much worse. But they way i see it i wont have bad hair days, i will save on buying shampoo/conditioner but most of all i cannot do anything about my hair loss but i will have a “boo” and that will be that, end of story and it will grow back and it might be curly (something i always wanted but it was always sooooo straight).The funny thing for me was it has taken me two years to grow my hair to shoulder length and now im gonna lose it!!! I am having my next chemo cycle next Tuesday 13th May and unfortunatly my hair has just started to fall out but hey ho as i said it will come back after my chemo has finished.
Kate
xx