permanent hair loss

Hi Lulupop,

sorry to hear what your going through with your hair.

I have no experience of this so sadly have no suggestions to help. I asked this  very same question regarding Docetaxel in this forum a month or so back, as I had heard that it can kill the hair follicles so your hair doesn’t grow back! The replies I received were from people saying they had had no problems, and their hair had grown back. I am still very concerned about it as I am due to start it at the end of September and if I thought my hair would not grow back I would refuse it. Did your oncologist say that it would never come back? Did they have no suggestions?

Hi

Thank you for the reply, The Oncologist said it was probably a combination of the chemo and Letrozole and I have to stay on the Letrozole for ten years because I had all my lymph nodes removed, she wasn't very helpful so I have asked the gp to refer me to a dermatologist. I tried the cold cap but unfortunately it didn't work for me I hair fell out after a few weeks. If I was told about the side affects I would probably still had the chemo as its quite rare for the hair not to grow back so I wish you luck with your treatment.

Thank you Lulupop.

I do hope the Dermatologist can give you some answers for your hair. I can imagine how distressing this would be after all you’ve been through,

Good luck

Hi Lulupop,

I’m really sorry that your hair is growing back thin. I used the cold cap and I lost pretty much all of the hair on the top of my head. It has grown back fine, but while I was impatiently waiting, I did look at different options. If you search for ‘non-surgical hair patch,’ many companies come up that specialise in making hair to cover bald/thin areas. I didn’t approach them as it started to grow back, so I can’t recommend one.

Mitteny, I had FEC-T and each cycle, I lost some hair, particularly on the top of my head. I’m glad I persevered with it though, as my hair started to grow back during the fourth cycle and the cold cap protected the regrowth. Three months after the end of chemo, I had enough hair to cover my head and I had the remaining hair cut into a short bob. By the last two cycles, because I had so little hair on the top, it was really cold, especially at the start. I definitely needed a blanket and flask. I think that I even took a hot water bottle in for the final one. Even if you don’t keep all of your original hair, hopefully it will protect the hair follicles.

Best wishes,

Sarah x