Hi Everyone. Well, I’m 14 days post first FEC and as forewarned, hair now coming out by the handful. I had decided earlier that when the time came I would have it shaved at the hairdresser, and then OH volunteered which I think is very brave of him! So today’s the day. Thought I would make a bit of a party of it, so have half a dozen very trusted friends coming over this afternoon and the wine is in the fridge! Have put on a colourful dress, sparkly earings and some very bright lipstick so set to go! Good luck to all of you whatever stage of this hair business you are at. I’ll let you know how it goes! - Meanwhile got to go for an MRI this morning! Sarah x
Hi Sarah
Good luck to you and it’s the best thing to do. My daughter shaved mine for me with my other daughter and hubby holding each hand. It was very traumatic but it gets it over with. While waiting to shave it off it was coming out in handfuls and having to vacuum the bed and bedroom every day. After the initial shock I am sure you will feel better.
I have finished my chemo and started the first of 25 rads today and then a year of herceptin.
Much love
Liz xx
Hi Sarah,
Wishing you all the luck int he world. Its a very brave thing to do. Im at Rads at the minute and been where you are…in a way its quite liberating .
Good luck with the MRI and the party! Im guessing if your posting now and sharing your plans for this afternoon you mustnt be in the UK…?
Wherever you are, I send you warm wishes and hope all goes well for “shaving event”
Love Lynne.x
Hi Sarah
What a fantastic idea - good for you !! Losing your hair is rubbish, but like Lynne said you’ll find it quite liberating. Getting ready to go out with no hair takes no time at all - gives a whole new meaning to “wash and go” !. I’ve saved loads of money not having my usual haircuts and highlights over last year, so my hubby was very pleased !
Mine is now growing back and I’ve realised I’m a natural brown (haven’t seen my real colour since I was about 15 - lol !).
Have a fab party, and wishing you lots of luck with your forthcoming treatments.
Julie
xxx
Hey Sarah,
WELL DONE YOU !!!
It does suck when you think about it but when its actually gone its really not that bad.
I shaved my off when it started falling out. My other half was in Australia when i did mine and I was all alone. I did open a big bottle of Baileys though. No tears were shed and I soon got used to it.
Its grown back now and i’ve actually decided to keep it short. Its grown back dark brown and with really cute curls (very pixie like and I love it) but I have had to dye it as there seemed to be a lot of grey. I’m sure I wasn’t going grey before I lost it, i’m only 29. Nevermind…
Hope it all went ok, i’ll have a sneaky glass for you too.
Mandy xxx
Good for you Sarah
I had mine shaved off by the wig man, who cut my wig first then pulled me away from the mirror, shaved off what was falling out in handfuls and dirty and unbrushed (in an attempt to keep in on my head one week longer), then put on the wig and tarted it up a bit more in front of the mirror. I sent my friend down to the saloon 'cos I couldn’t trust her to cry! And all was well. I had ginger hair which was unique but he managed to find a good match and a lot of people are unaware it’s a wig, except for my astute 7year old neice who asked me why it was ‘funny’. Oh well. I’m hoping for a ‘less obvious’ shade of ginger when it grows back!
with love
Pauline
Dear Liz, Lynne, Julie, Mandy and Pauline
Thank you all for your lovely messages of support - and all you brave ladies have been through this already!
Well, I have to tell you (and anyone else who is wondering about going through a similar “party”), that it was absolutely great, an entirely positive experience (having accepted some weeks ago that I would lose my hair) and I don’t even have a hang over this morning! (I’m in Australia which is why the time is all different - three year posting). It was me, my husband, 18 year old daughter and 4 lovely friends. I am sure they were all more nervous than I was and I really appreciated them going through it with me! Had a few drinks first and then said “come on, let’s do it” so we piled into the kitchen and OH got to work. Daughter chief photographer! We had pink flowers and balloons, and I had my glass of wine in hand. It was a bit of a shock on first sight of course - mostly because I have been blonde for 20 years and the quarter inch left is definitely brown! Sat around like that afterwards, and then had a try on of the wig. Isn’t it just amazing how quickly we humans adapt to things! I’m used to it already, went out in my wig this morning and no one gave me a second glance which is very reassuring (well I am 48 not 18!!). This morning my daughter has given me a beautiful bunch of flowers which says “to a great success, what a role model of elegance and poise and also bravery”. Isn’t that totally lovely, has really made me feel fantastic. It’s awful, I suppose, but it felt wonderful just going for it like this! Good luck everyone. Love Sarah x
Sarah
Just read your posting and I am in tears. What a lovely thing for your daughter to do. We had a bottle of pink champagne at the ready when we shaved mine but I could’nt really taste is properly because of the chemo but it was such a thing to go through. I remember going to the bathroom (wanting to go on my own) to have a look and when I turned around the girls were stood by the door crying their eyes out. So we all had a good weep. Then it was time to get on with it.
I don’t wear my wig in the house and if anybody calls they get my birdie fluff to look at !
Love and hugs
Liz xxx
Dear Ladies
What a wonderful positive thread, although the hair “business” is crap, I believe the best thing I did was to get my OH to shave it all off - the bed, showe, bathroom thing with handfuls of hair everywhere was awful.
The hair is still coming out but its much easier to handle when its little spiky bits and not handfuls of 4" long hair- well done to you all for being so positive
jackiexxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Right guys, I’m on day 10 after my first FEC…by all accounts my hair should start coming out in the next 4 days…
Question is - should I stop waiting and just have it off? My hair is pretty short anyway… this waiting for the hair to come is such a pain!!!
Love and hugs to you all
Angela
Hi Angela - For me, the most important thing was being able to take control, and decide the “when and the where”. 14 days does often seem to be a “hairshed” day with FEC, but reading these postings some ladies hang on to theirs for longer! Perhaps just try and decide what you want to do when the time comes - ie who you want with you, where you want it done, have a clipper and your wig/head coverings at the ready. Then you can “go for it” when you feel ready. I literally found my hair coming out in handfuls on one day, so decided to shave it on the next, which gave me time to rally a few friends (as above!). Like you, the waiting for something that I knew would happen was a pain - it feels so much better now that that stage has stopped looming and is now behind me. Good luck, let us know how you get on.
Liz and Jackie - Thanks for your lovely messages. Sarah x
WOW, Sarah… what a great idea. I am not sure I would have been that brave.
I shaved my hair off when the time came, and kept it from my little girl. I was pretty lucid through it, but I had a cry over when I finally cleared my head… yet, it was loads better than to see day-to-day the fall-out! yuk.
Now, I am finished with chemo, and am waiting for hair to re-grow. So, please remember … it is just a phase. It feels very long while it last: I remember when I was pregnant years ago, it felt it would last forever… yet, it was such a short time in my life! I assume some day I will barely remember that I was bald once. (or at least, I hope so… :)) )
Still today, I see as the worse part of this nasty adventure was loosing my hair, my brows, my eyelashes.
It must be exra hard when you have very young children. A lady told me of how she dealt with it. You know how young children love to play hairdressers, so she let her two little ones have the play of their lifetime! Told them they could do what they liked, snip bits off, make funny shapes, so it went on until it was all gone, and they finished off with putting face paints all over her head and they whole thing was great fun and totally untraumatic (at least for the children!). Now that’s what I call brave, but it sounded such a great idea! So glad that you are getting a good way along the line with all your treatment - as you say, it’s amazing how the time does pass. xx
Hi - I had decided to shave mine off but I wanted (and they did too) my 2 girls to be here so had to hang on a few days as they live in Manchester. So it as a family thing and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. It was hard for them when they came home to my hair as it had started to come out in handfuls. But so glad when I did it and didn’t feel like spiders crawling on my shoulders everytime I moved !!
Liz xxx