New hair growth

Hi Maddy 

I lost my hair when having EC but it started to grow back while I was on paclitaxel.

Anne

Hey Maddy

Well done for getting through EC! I hope you're doing ok.

I had the same chemo regimen as you. I finished in November 2024. I lost all my hair with EC. I think I noticed some fuzz on my head towards the end of my 12 rounds of Paclitaxel.  My hair started to grow properly about 2mths after my last chemo round.

I now have very short, full coverage and have stopped wearing a wig. My hair seems to be continuously growing now. I'm working on getting used to the 'new me'.

Wishing you well with the rest of your treatment. S

Morning - I sound so similar to you. My hair started growing back during paclitaxcel. It was fluffy and continued to grow throughout the rest of the treatment. I am now 8 weeks post finishing chemo and have a full head of soft baby hair so it doesn’t seem to fall out again. I have been using UKlash serum on my eyelashes and they have grown back amazingly as well. 
Would you mind if I ask you a question. I am having a left sided nipple sparing mastectomy with expander and full lymph node clearance on Wednesday. I am feeling a bit nervous as delayed a week during to being sick so having more time to think about it all! The lymph node clearance is the bit that it worrying me most. Can you tell me what the pain is like after and what you recovery has been like. I am 45 and used to being active, I am also left handed so worried how it is going to impact my mobility. Apologies for jumping on your thread! X

Yay! There is hope!! 

EC was definitely a hard slog and I ended up in hospital after my first 2 rounds due to uncontrollable vomiting. I ended up needing my dose reduced and that helped a lot! 

thats great news about your hair, definitely restoring faith for me that this fuzz is here to stay  really reassuring that others have experienced the same and it stayed 

Hiya! I’m so glad your hair stayed. Hearing you have a full coverage so soon after treatment is really reassuring! 

I had no reconstruction with mine due to needing radiotherapy after my chemo so I am completely flat on one side so I’m guessing your surgery will be abit different to mine. My pain was ok to be honest, I slept for 3 whole days after my surgery with my partner literally just waking me up to give me painkillers. I went back to work 4 weeks post op for a month before my treatment started so I think I got over the surgery pretty quickly as I was signed off for 6 weeks. My advise would be to make sure you do the physio exercises they give you, my partner forced me into doing them as I didn’t want to because they hurt. It’s painful when you first start doing the exercises but it’s definitely worth it. when I had my physio appointment 6 weeks post op they said I had 90% of my movement back and that wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t have forced me to do those exercises. 
I sometimes suffer with a little bit of stiffness but it’s more so when I’m overstretching outside of  ‘normal’ movement if that makes sense. My arm was completely numb to begin with when I came out of surgery but that all came back within a week or so, I have some permanent numbness in my chest and armpit but I don’t really notice it anymore. 
Overall for the surgery I’d just say my advise would be rest, be kind to yourself, take all the pain killers they give you and do your exercises. 
if I can do surgery anyone can and you got this it’s normal to feel nervous it’s a big deal just try and remember the reason that you’re doing it! 
I’m still massively struggling with my body image after surgery and for me that was and is still the hardest part but I just have to keep reminding myself of why I did it. I hope that helps and I wish you the best of luck with your surgery, I’d love to know how it went when your recovered and ready, sending lots of positive vibes 

Hi, I had 3 EC and 3 docetaxel. My final chemo was in December. My hair gave up after the first EC. It did start to grow during docetaxel. It was slow and patchy at first . Now I go everywhere without any head covering. It is short but quite thick. Don’t quite know what I will do with it!