I had my first FEC two weeks ago and my hair has started falling out and my head is sore. Will my eyebrows and eyelashes fall out too? Has anyone managed to keep theirs?
Tracey
Tracey
My experience last year was that by the end of my 6 sessions of FEC I had lost my eyebrows and all but about 2 eyelashes on each eye. I found that the most difficult part of the hair loss, funnily. I had to draw on my eyebrows because it looked odd and if I put on make up had to put on dark eyeliner.
Benefits cosmetics do something called “browzings” for the brows. Not cheap but helps the situation
Lots of luck
Sharon x
Probably. I had EC and mine did.
mousy
Hi Tracy,
I had 6 FEC and although my brows and lashes thinned considerably, I still had a fair bit left - enough to get by without drawing/make up.
Best of luck.
Anneli
-x-
Hi Tracey
Below is a link to a booklet published by Breast Cancer Care called ‘Breast cancer and hair loss’ which you may find helpful to read:
breastcancercare.org.uk/docs/hairloss_2004_v2_0.pdf
The booklet also contains information about our free ‘HeadStrong’ workshops which explore the many issues faced by people experiencing hair loss which may be available in an area near you, for more details and further support please contact our confidential helpline on 0808 800 6000, Monday to Friday 9am-5pm and Saturday 9am-2pm.
Best wishes
Lucy
Hi Tracey, i have had 4 X FEC so far, eyebrows and lashes have thinned a little but are still visible so far, hopefully will hang on for a little longer.
good luck with your treatment,
take care
Sarah
Hi there, I’ve had three FEC and eyebrows and lashes still ok, in fact I’m having to pluck the stray eyebrow hair. My eyebrows are stubborn generally though, I have them waxed once a month. I started to lose hair head on day 16, so shaved to a number four 2 days later. Now I just have stubble on head. Hope that helps. Good luck with treatment, my third FEC has given me very few side effects so far. Rest when your body tells you to.
Liz x
Hi tracey,
i had epi as well, i lost 85% of my hair fairly quickly but the remainder hung on in there and thinned gradually, i wore my wig which was great out & about but mooched round the house with thin hair, my eyebrows didn’t really thin much, i lost quite a few eyelashes but not all. I went to a look good feel better workshop and the lady next to me had lost her eyebrows & was upset especially as she was going out to a birthday party that eve, the beauticians running the workshop showed her how to pencil back in the eyebrows and a few other tricks, she looked amazing. The workshop was great, i’d highly recommend it, it really booseted my self esteem just at the time i was feeling low about my appearance, if you go on thier website they list all the venues, i travelled a little way for mine but boy was it worth it! You get a fab goody bag too. hope this helps & you go on ok with the rest of your chemo,
take care, rivergirl
Hi all
I am due my 1st FEC at 1.30 today…just hanging on to sanity and trying to keep a very british ‘stiff upper lip!’.
That is my main worry - losing my hair I have accepted but contemplating losing the brows and lashes makes me worry. It then when all can ‘see’ that you are having treatment.
I think today I will get my NHS voucher for my wig but am planning to spend a little bit more on it if necessary.
Will keep you informed of how I get on today
Anita xxx
Hi all
I had my head shaved to grade zero after my hair started falling out just before my 2nd FEC and I am still finding my scalp is either sore or itchy at times, does anyone know why this is???
I am expecting that my brows and lashes will fall out later on although they are still here for now. I have not needed to “tidy” my eyebrows for several weeks which suggests the hair has stopped growing same as on the rest of my body. (my boyfriend commented how much softer my skin felt and I explained that all the almost invisible body hair has gone and the bits I normall shave it is just not growing back)
If it’s any help I bought some fake eyebrows on a website called headcovers.com that I found the link on this site. They do eyelashes too. I don’t know whether I will resort to wearing them or just draw them on, we shall have to see. My wigs have long enough fringes I might get away with it. My boyfriend admires my wigs and scarves but says he finds the fake brows really creepy as they are currently still in their packaging like little furry caterpillars!
My understanding of NHS wigs is that they are not inferior quality you are just entitled to a voucher to redeem at certain places against the wig of your choice. I wasn’t entitled as I am a Private patient. But I got 2 wigs from Direct Wigs, again there is a link on this site and they were SO helpful. The wigs were less than £40 each and I have had lots of compliments on how realistic they look.
xxx
Hi ladies
I have managed to keep eyelashes and brows upto now but I must admit I do treat them a lot better than I used to. Also if Im wearing mascara I dont used a waterproof one and flick the brush under the tap to wet it a little before applying so much easier to get off without removing any lashes.
Karen
Hi All
Mine fell out completely - in fact ALL my body hair vanished, even on my arms. Take comfort from the fact that no one seems to notice unless you point it out to them! I noticed and minded but I seem to have been the only one. And it does come back pretty quickly once chemo stops.
Love and strength
Dilys
xxx
Hi all,
I had 4 Ec and lost all hair, including body hair like Dilys, but kept my eye lashes and brows although they thinned abit they still looked ok. They came out when I had 4 Taxotere afterwards. I found that upset me more than losing my hair, cos it mad me look unwell. I went to Look good feel better afternoon at the Royal Free ( they run in lots of areas) and I got a goodie bag of amazing cosmetics and the clinique eye brow pencil was brill. I would not usually use it as quite expensive but it made such a natural effect that I treated myself when I had finished one I was given,
I finished chemo in Feb and lots of hair back now, it started growing when I was on the Tax, which is quite normal apparently and I have just been for first leg wax… well odd but I actually enjoyed it, well the getting back to normal feeling!!!
It does get better,
Take care all
Dawn x
Oh yes, couldn’t agree more about the Look Good Feel Better afternoon. I went to the Royal Free as well and it was brilliant. trangely I never used the eyebrow pencil but the rest of the eye make up was great. Not something I usually use but it did make a difference. I had taxotere too and mine refused to appear whle I was still having it, though I have heard people say it is quite common, as Dawn says. One good thing is that my underarm hair still grows very slowly - yippee!
Dilys
xxx
Hi ladies,
Ive just had 5th FEC, eyebrows have thinned and so have lashes, all body hair gone.
and ive so enjoyed actually not having to wash and style my hair everyday!
love julie x
Hi
Had fec 3 yrs ago and did not lose eyebrows or eyelashes, had tax and eyebrows went thin but kept eyelashes
love Mel xx
Hiya,
I didn’t lose eyebrows or lashes when on FEC, lost both on Taxotere and nearly two years later still have no brows to speak of!!
Take Care,
Jackie x
Thank you soooo much for your comments, they’re a great help! I suppose if it happens, then I will just have to get on with it! I went out today for the first time wearing my NHS wig. I felt a bit strange but friends said it looked good! Having my second FEC on Friday, wish me luck!
Love to you all
Tracey xx