I’ve been taking Letrozole over a month now. I think that, I am noticing that my hair is getting thiner and my hair line rereding. I find this very stressful. I believe that, I have already had enough unwanted changes in both, my life and body due to bc. I haven’t taken the pill yesterday and I am thinking of not taking it today either, honestly, I can’t cope with more of this cancer shit, it’s just too much. I am about to shave my hair again because I cannot bear the idea of having shit hair but, looking like a bc patient again when I want to start job hunting is not ideal. Why this f ------ bloody illness is so s***? Is there any other AI that doesn’t cause alopecia?
I know that thinking that I am maybe prolonging NED by taking the drug, this may seem very trivial but, I don’t care, it’s very distressing for me and, I guess, I am not the only one.
Sorry to read that you’re so down at the minute. Please do give the helpline here a call and have a chat with one of the staff, they’re here to support you at times like this. Helpline is open this morning at 9am until 5pm tonight, calls are free, 0808 800 6000.
Hi Happynipple
Sorry you feel low at the moment, I would advise you to speak to your consultant and see what they say, there are many drugs on the market so you may be able to change to one that is more suitable for you, I was on Tamoxifan for six months, gained weight, got very down and liver mets kept increasing, have changed to letrozole in April and now feel happier, have lost some weight and no new growth in liver. Have a chat with your bcn too,
Good luck with the job hunting
Dear Happy nipple, I have very fine hair and until recently I was taking Letrozole/Femara. I am not taking it at the moment as on chemotherapy and they stop you taking it when you have chemo. My hair has thinnned a little but it has not got any worse and remaining the same for a long time now. Hope this helps but if not, have a chat with your BCNurse who may be able to discuss with you Onclogist if another pill would be suitable for you. I have been on this pill for a couple of years in total. Val
No way are your feelings trivial. You are not the only one - I have also found the unwanted changes in my life and body and appearance very difficult to deal with and still make me angry.
As regards hair growth perhaps I can maybe sound an encouraging note…
I lost all my hair during chemo and it looked shit when it came back (patchy, curly, discoloured, sticking out at funny angles from my crown). I didn’t really realise how shit it looked as I was just pathetically grateful to have some at that stage but now I look at photos of me from a couple of years ago and can’t believe how shit it looked. I was put straight onto Letrozole after chemo/rads so was taking it when my hair was growing back. Now after 2.5 years on Letrozole although my hair isn’t the same as pre-BC as it’s much drier, it soon straightened itself out, got its colour back and has gradually thickened up to almost pre-BC coverage.
I hope this doesn’t sound patronising, I just hope you find the same and that the current thinning/receding are a temporary state of affaris.
I’m also job-hunting so fingers crossed for both of us.
Dear Happynipple
I just wanted to say you are not alone with hair thinning. I’ve been on letrosole for two years come November and I am getting quite concerned about the hair loss. I do believe there are supplements that might help as I have seen these advertised in health magazines - hopefully someone else will come forward with some advice here. I have recently bought Lanza Healing Volume Thickening Shampoo and Lanza Healing Volume Thickening Conditioner in the hope that these might help. I’ve only used it twice so far so I don’t know if it’s any good yet. Both were over £20 so if they don’t work, I will not be buying them again. I try not to be sore on my hair and only use the minimum amount of heat. I also don’t get foils as often as I used to for fear of further hair loss. I have mentioned it to my oncologist but, in my opinion, these people are not particularly interested in offering advice on such matters. Try to be kind to your hair and pamper it with good conditioner.