Hi,
when I was told I was to have chemo, I have to confess that losing my hair was my biggest concern. Some people seem to take it much better than I did and I know it probably sounds vain but I felt it was not me without hair. I think having long hair makes quite a difference to how big a step it feels. I had the cold cap and although I never lost all my hair it got very thin with a bare patch on the top - like a monk!I wore big stretchy hairbands over it.
I thought it might cheer someone who feels the same way to know that my hairdresser tells me I now have twice as much hair as before chemo, it is in fab condition and that I have far less grey hairs. Apparently my greyness has gone back by about 6 years or so. Anyway keep chugging along chemo ladies and if like me you worry about having normal hair again I hope this may cheer you a little
Hugs
Lily x
Lily, that is great news and so pleased for you. I have finished Epi and started CMF. I have a fine covering of stubble. David Beckham once set a trend with a hairdo like mine!
Sheila x
Hi girls,
Thanks Lily for your words of encouragement, when my hair started falling out yesterday I knew that time had finally come. I was dreading this, more so than having a mx which has not affected me emotionaly at all. When I got up this morning I got the OH clippers out and gave myself a no4 all over!! Everyone says it grows back better and curly. Damn, its taken 30+ years to get rid of the curls and as I started going grey at 18 and am now completely white at 51 I don’t think there is much chance of coming back with any colour!!! Least I don’t have to do any colouring for a while. I can see the plus side of a wig.
I was only day 12 of my first FEC and thought I would have gone a bit longer but hey ho it wasn’t to be.
Take care, love to you all,
Jane
Hi Lily
I think we probably went through treatment about the same time,May 2008.
I am just like you,my hair has come back much thicker,i have gone a lot darker and the hairdresser said my hair was in almost too good a condition,making it difficult to handle.
I feel i have the hair i had as a teenager and im mid forties,not a grey hair in sight.
I think we’ve been through enough with the treatment and deserve a little reward for the harsh treatments endured
Enjoy!
Hi,
well glad to hear I wasn’t the only one that got a little unexpected bonus. It is such a shame that some treatments cause people long term problems as I know I would really struggle if that was me. Sheila I was on epi/cmf too and had an organic dye put on before I completed chemo and that really makes it block together and get in to a pixie cut quickly. Better not tell you I liked David Beckham with his hair short ha ha !
Jane I am sorry to hear that day has arrived as I can remember walking around with hands full of hair saying just look at it and wondering if I should save it and try to glue it back on. I did not clipper mine but FEC is different as the epi throughout eats hair. On epi/cmf the final 4 do not affect hair so it starts growing again.I am enjoying being wavey after straight hair for years but I think it is just because it is shorter. You sound like you are much more balanced about it than I was, good for you. Take care and I hope FEC is not too unkind to you.
Hi anxious yes I started chemo in May 09 for 28 weeks so had a bit of a longer run than on some treatments. The hair sounds fab and very well deserved. Wish the waistline was as easily fixed 
Thanks for your lovely posts and keep well
Love
Lily x
Hi - I am trying to take comfort from your positive comments. I am older than all of you I guess (60+) but had strong ‘white and wavy’ hair before FEC and Tax. I hated losing my hair which all came out overnight just a few days after No 1 FEC.
I have worn a wig ever since- baldness didn’t appeal and I felt I was too old for bandanas etc - my wig is good and has fooled most people- but I want MY hair back! Although I finished chemo in Dec 09 my hair is still really thin and I can’t go out without the wig- it just looks pathetic & I don’t want to be seen like this.
Will it ever re-grow fully I ask myself? You do see a lot of little old ladies with very thin hair - I just don’t feel ready to be one of them!
Must go to see my hairdresser, I guess - I have had only one ‘tidy up’ in the last 13 months.
Encouragement needed please !
Hi Topsymo,
it sounds crazy but when the hairdresser cut my hair it actually looked like I had a lot more hair. This has happened every time. I completed chemo and rads on 31 Dec 08. I think you must mean you finished at the same time as we haven’t had the finish date you mentioned. That dratted chemo brain strikes again 
Don’t forget that my hair started growing while on cmf so I had a head start on you. Ask your hairdresser but mine said keep it short and massage the scalp to encourage growth.
Lots of luck as i know how having mine back makes me feel and wish I could give you the same.
Hugs
Lily x
Hi Topsymo,
Lily mentioned massaging the scalp. when I went to my Headstrong session I was advised to massage my scalp with aqueous cream to encourage growth. They also recommended using only Simple shampoo as this was the most gentle and had least additives (I think!). Anyway, that is what I am doing. Also, I think regular haircuts, although it might seem like defeating the object, encourages growth, thickness etc. Oh, anyway, a hairdresser would know better than me!
Take care, and hope you get your locks back…
Sheila
Dear Shelia and Lilly - thank you so much for your helpful comments. I finished Tax in Dec 08 and Rads at the end of Jan 09 and really my hair is just pathetic. I have even invested in a 2nd wig as the first one is looking a bit tatty - and sometimes I really think I will be wearing one for the rest of my life.
I have had my meagre locks trimmed twice since Jan (once in June & again in August) and it did make it look a little tidier at least. The sides and back had grown a little bit but the top of my head is still very thin and ’ tufty’ It is not a good look- despite my husband saying it is; my 2 daughters & best friend tell me otherwise !
I’ve actually made an appointment to go to my hairdresser again tomorrow- but am a bit put off when the cheeky girl is charging me £20 !
I have always used a gentle shampoo- though I swim a lot and maybe the pool chemicals don’t help. Will try the massaging anyway (add it to my daily regime of exercises for my arthritic shoulders and incipient breast lymphodeama!)
Hi Topsymo,
I don’t know if this will help but it is free and might be worth a try. Red magazine are running a haircare trial at the moment with the new SP range from Wella. I subscribed on their website (try Google to find it) and have received 2 products to try. A shampoo for delicate scalps and an energy serum whch they claim increases the supply of nutrients to the hair to make thinning hair thicker and stronger. In return, I have to complete a survey to let them know what I think of the products.
I have a no.1 cut at the moment so it is making a comeback but I wanted to try this to see if I can speed things up a bit.
Jan xx
Hi
I’m just coming to the end of my E-CMF cycle of chemo. I bit the bullet when I know I was starting chemo and after the first dose got my husband to run the clippers on No4 all over my head. My biggest worry was my sons wedding on 22 Aug, but a lovely wig saw me throught the day. My family took bets on how long I’d wear the wig for and I actually managed all day.
Loosing my hair was a far bigger ‘thing’ for son than for me! I now have covering of ‘badger’ coloured hair instead of me pre chemo natural blond but hey I’m still here that’s all that count.
Take care
Anne
Hi Anne,
glad to hear you are getting to the end of chemo. It is a long haul on e/cmf as I know. I dyed my badger hair with an organic dye while still on chemo and it made it look twice as much. Then had little points shaped infront of my ears and it suddenly turned into a haircut rather than a short mop. Hope everything goes really well for you. Do you have rads next?
Lily x
After all the good advice, I had my pathetic clumpy hair cut last Wed and it really looked a lot better- ie trimming and shaping the back and sides made the shortness on top much less obvious. My hairdresser think another 3 months might make all the difference (such an encouragementl!)
I have always worn my hair short so in one way I am lucky; if I was looking to re-grow long hair I think it would be a no-no. I know someone with attractive short hair who has only had it cut twice this year - and her chemo was several years ago- so I guess the natural tendency for some types of hair to thin as we age, has just been compounded by chemo.
An older friend of mine aged 78 has a magnificent head of very thick hair- but she also has a problem with facial hair - so I guess I’d really rather have MY problem
(My 38 year-old daughter also with BC has had 2 lots of chemo and each time her hair has re-grown very well )
Just to add my fourpenny worth! I finished Epi/CMF end of April by which time I had a thin coating of “badger hair” I was advised to shave this off and then the thicker hair would grow - which is what I did. The photo was taken in June when I actually didn’t bother wearing headcoverings cos after being bald this to me looked like a full head of hair! ha!
My hair has also come back thicker. It is only wavy not curly and is my natural colour of mousey brown. I used to have highlights pre chemo and was wondering if it is ok to have some put in now? I must get round to getting a trim and maybe even using a brush!
Have read about organic dyes but can they lighten hair?
Advice appreciated
Take care Sue x (must get photo updated to show off new mop!)