Hair regrowth on paclitaxel

Hi Lucy 

my hair all fell out on my second dose … but, it started growing back just before my last (6th dose) of chemo which was my third of docetaxal, . I was scared it would fall out and it did thin  a little ..but, it only a little bit and now it’s two inches long all over :) I hate how short it is, and am willing it to grow ..lol but its hair … 

i hope yours stays too and will grow more every day

Hi,

Thanks so much for your reply :) It's reassuring to know someone else also experienced hair regrowth during chemotherapy. That's great you have now got 2 inches.  Hope it continues to grow fast for you!

Hi Lucy

I had exactly the same last summer my hair completely fell out 2 weeks after EC of which I had 4 cycles

I then had 12 weekly paclitaxol & my hair started to grow whilst having it. Please be assured this does not indicate it’s not working. As my tumor shrunk from 5.5cm to 1.2 mm allowing me to just have a lumpectomy & then radiotherapy. 

i finished all my treatment in November and my hair has been growing thick, fast & curly since July

I’m super exited as getting my first haircut tomorrow, hoping for a trendy little pixie cut

wishing you well for your treatment xx

I used a cold cap but lost most of my hair during EC.  When I moved onto Paclitaxel I was still shedding some of the old longer bits that were left but new fluff was growing at the same time - it was odd. So I think it can grow during Paclitaxel.  The nurses told me there’s no correlation between side effects and whether it’s working …. 

Hi,

Thanks for your reply, ah yeah your chemo is the exact same as mine.  That's very reassuring that the hair regrowth definitely didn't mean it wasn't working.  Great that it shrank your tumour so well :). Hope your haircut goes well that's really exciting! 

Thanks for replying.  That's good to know what the nurses said about there being no correlation.

Hi Lucy

I had 3 cycles of EC followed by 12 of paclitaxel which finished on 1st December. I'd lost most of my hair by the second EC cycle so got my husband to shave it to a number 1.

Mine started to grow back while I was paclitaxel and by the time I started radiotherapy on 5 January it was long enough to cover my previously bald scalp so that I no longer needed to wear headscarves. All of the other ladies who were on paclitaxel also experienced hair regrowth while on that chemo. Some of them sooner than me some of them later.

x

Hii, that's really interesting that you and all the other ladies on this drug had hair regrowth.  Great that you had full coverage by the time radiotherapy started too.  I am so looking forward to not having to wear headscarves!

Thats great im on the same treatment as you got two more EC to go than onto Taxol every two weeks how long is the infusion please also im worried about allergic reaction and do you still need to take the injections Filgrastim with Taxol thank you 

Hi Sharon S 

My paclitaxel was once a week so I don't know whether that makes a difference to how long it takes to have the infusion. I was usually at the chemo unit for about 3 hours, although that included having all the observations, etc done first and I didn't have any allergic reaction. I only had the filgrastim injections while having EC.