I have seen a couple of comments about the effect of herceptin on hair growth. I had my second herceptin yesterday.
After 6 FECs I lost all my hair including those nasty little chin hairs. When my hair started coming back, my head hair came back good and thick (I always had fast hair growth before bc) and those horrible chin hairs came back even quicker.
However over the last week or so, those have slowed up on growth so I wonder if all my other hair has done the same. I quite like my new hair - it’s at the stage where I might have had it cut this short and everyone is commenting on how it suits me. I thought it would save me lots of money not having it coloured but if I don’t have to have it cut very often too - result!
Can anyone else add their experience to this?
Ta
Sharon x
My hair started coming back during rads, which was Feb/March. It kept groing in millimetre spurts during Taxotere, now I am on Herceptin. I can assure you it’s really slow. I’ve had it uncovered since end Sept when it looked like a crew cut, now it just looks like I’ve had it cut short, but I don’t reckon I will be getting it done at the hairdressers until about end Jan.
I was a (dyed!) brunette before all this, now I am really silver. I use shampoo for silver hair and a finish which puts a pearlised sheen on it, everyone I meet thinks it looks fab. Apart from my sister that is, who said “oh you are going to colour that aren’t you” but then she works abroad and has given me no support through this, so sod her. I was worried about being silver at 46 but everyone I meet tells me not to dye it and I have a young face so it actually looks quite funky.
Yes I’m sure that Herceptin is slowing down my hair growth. I always had thick fast growing hair. It’s come back as thick as it used to be but is growing quite slowly.
Take care
Anthi x
My hair is growing very slowly too. I’m nearly four months on from my last chemo, have a good thick coverage (thicker than before) but it is still extremely short. I’m hoping to be able to throw away the scarves by the time we go on holiday in the Feb half term. It’s also coming back darker than it used to be, with noticeably more grey.
My hair too is growing more slowly than I had hoped. I had my last chemo at the end of August and have just started to not mind too much being seen without my wig, although as it’s cold I still wear the wig to go out. I guess it is about an inch long now and like Roadrunner it’s much darker with quite a bit of grey. But at least it’s coming back and I can deal with the colour!
I finished chemo last March, hair still very short…was a bit curly and too thick, not thinner (thank goodness)…darker than i remember…but frustratingly slow growing…about 2 ", but ive had 3 trims…My onc said he had never heard of slow hair and nail growth being side effects of Herceptin…
Well I was getting my eyelashes back by the end of August but after 2 herceptins I noticed that they hadn’t grown now after 8 herceptins they are still the same and I have terrible eye watering cos hardly any eyelashes so p’''sed off about it cos I only want eyelashes not too bothered about me hair lol love Eileen
Finished chemo 3rd of december, now done 3rd herceptin. Hair is coming in - I’d say pretty fast, one month only and about 1cm of hair - normal rate. Lashes and brows are very slow on the other hand.
Haven’t noticed any side effects so far… my nails are a bit week (effect of the beloved Taxol), but are growing fast as well.
I finished Chemo 24th Oct and my hair started to grow back very slowly, i am due for my 3rd herceptin tomorrow and my hair has been getting thicker and thicker by the day. it now measures about 1/2 inch. Don’t no if this is normal as i have never had my hair bald/short before. Eyelashes and Eyebrows have been back since way before xmas. lashes are longer and thicker they look cool.