Two days post EC3, using cold cap but losing hair. In anticipation of losing eyelashes (and brows) have purchased rapidlash .. can anyone advise should I use this during chemo or after???
At £40 a pop, I'd have thought it might have been more prudent to check before purchase?? I'd take it in with you next time you see your oncologist and get them to check the active ingredients. Looks like another product designed to feed on our insecurities. Couldn't you just wiat for them to grow back naturally?
Hi,my daughter bought Rapidlash for me after my first 4 EC chemo treatments,I started to use it about the time I started the first of 4 Taxotere,at this point I still had all lashes and eyebrows.after 2 Taxotere treatments I started to lose eyelasghes and brows,so the Rapidlash as far as I can see has done nothing.I would not have spent £40 on this product but as It was a gift I thought I had nothing to lose by trying it,I may try it again when my lashes start to grow back,I am 2 weeks after final chemo and just started daily sessions of radiotherapy,Have a good covarage of haid hair now so fingers x eyelashes and brows start to return soon.
I've lost most of my hair, I'm not about to start losing all my identity .. I think £40 is a small price to pay if it makes me feel good. Guess I'm just vain!
Hi,I hope I didnt imply that you were vein,I just could not have afforded it myself.
It just didnt work for me,I absolutaly hate the no eyebrow and eyelash look,I live in Germany and havent had the luxury of advice from look good feel better etc,just by using the net I have learnt how to brush on brows and use eyeliner effectively,when I go out I always wear my sunglasses.I think the Rapidlash will be good to use when they start to grow back as I believe they help strengthen the hairs so I will start to use it again then,The Oncologist told me that the brows and lashes usually take longer than head hair to fall out but it is inevitable.I thought id got away with it,no such look.I even tried using vasaline on them..thinking it might help keep them stuck on for longer.lol....x
I've been using Rapid Lash for the last 12 months and am very happy with it. I started using it after my lashes started growing back after chemo and I used a cheaper product for my eyebrows called Vita Vit which also worked well.
I just assumed that my lashes would fall out even if I were to use Rapid Lash so didn't use it during treatment BUT there was a post over on www.breastcancer.org where a lady was given Latisse prior to her chemo when she went to the hospital. It claims it helps you keep brows/lashes not sure how true it is.
I used Rapid Lash every night for 6 weeks and it lasts around 2 months I now use it twice a week and in between I use L'Oreal Lash Renewal which is quite good and that's about ten pounds.
It's not about being vain, it's about feeling good about yourself. That's why I continue to use Rapid Lash I have gorgeous lashes ;)
How long after treatment did it take for your lashes and brows start to grow back,I have been more bothered about lashes and brows than I have my head hair..lol....gorgeous lashes sounds good...
Hi ceddy 100 .. no you didn't imply anything though smell cat lady suggested I just wait for them to grow back! I think we all want to do a little bit to get things/us back to how they were as quickly as possible and feel good about ourselves. I dont want to look like a patient or a victim ... I want to look like me. That may be shallow but thats how I feel. Thanks for all your help on the lashes front .. will investigate further. x
I wish I'd heard of it earlier. I am off out to buy some because I too am vain and throughout chemo ( which seems now like a distant nightmare) I too wanted to look like me and not some 'poor cancer victim'. I learnt I am vain and care very much about my hair etc. that is why I tolerated the cold cap throughout treatment and would do so again. I spent a fortune on make up and stuff I had never bought before and actually, I am glad I did. I also realised thast pre chemo I was so busy looking after the children and husand that I often forgot about me. They tell me chemo has made me more selfish, I tell them they have grown up and become more independent and my servant days are over. I tried false lashes - both sets and individual - but realise it wasn't a good look when the stuck to my glasses and didn't move with my eyes. I learnt how to use eyeliner with good effect and never go without it now. My fringe covered the eyebrows. My eyelashes are back but unlike my hair, they are more sparse than previously and could do with a boost. Let's not start critisising each other for wanting to preserve some sense of self through this horrible journey - this world is big enough for those that want to hide their cancer and those who want to go bravely bald plus all those in between.
Tess x
Hi, Well said Tessa,I am definately not one for embracing the cancer look,I hate it when I realise people are staring at me,its that pittying look,Its easier to hide a bald head,but the face is a different story ,I dont look like me,amazing the difference eyelashes and brows make,I dont know anyone here so it hasnt been too bad, I havent had to face people I know daily I also avoid looking in the mirror ,ive had my daughters and some close family and friends visit ,My daughter has just got engaged and has arranged a big party for the end of August when im back in the Uk,I am dreading it,the thought of seeing everyone the way I look now terrifies me,I am bloated have put on 2 stone,almost bald and have a face that looks like its been pumped up...I was so fit and active before this bloomin caner treatment started,today I managed to walk the dog for 10 minutes,(chemo has affected my chest).thats the longest in over a month.My daughter told me about a blog....Sophie feels better......I think Sophie works for look magazine.she has just completed her treatment and has blogged about lots of beauty produts etc with tips and useful information.maybe you may find her tips useful,I did..
Oh dear, what have I said? I wasn't critisising anyone or judging anyone, personally I felt that £40 is a little obscene. I wish I had the money to buy such things but even if I did I think I would give it to Macmillan for looking after me. If it hadn't been for them I wouldn't be here.
I was a bit like you when I started treatment. I hated losing my hair more than I had imagined and got upset when a woman moved to another table when I was in a pub having lunch. I was in a dither about having a PICC line because I thought people would stare (and they did) and I don't care for the chemo look - its soooo last month darhling! The way I see it is, why cover up the fact that you are being treated for cancer - because you are. Note that I said being treated, not 'battlin' or being a 'victim', I am merely a patient, with some unpleasant visual side effects. I accept that cancer has touched my life and don't see why I should hide it, this merely perpetuates the myth about it being a 'killer' and a deadly disease. I prefer things to be out in the open and to be discussed.
Yesterday I attended the funeral of a colleague who died from cancer. My colleagues all know I'm being treated and had I turned up in full war paint, wig and false eyelashes, I think it would have been wrong and disrespectful. The widow of our friend came up to me and personally thanked me for coming, her words and eyes alone told me that she new what I was going through. I braved the slaps on the head, the shouts of 'eh up baldy' from my colleagues, consoling myself with the thought that I still had more hair than some of the senior management. I want my friends to see me now so that they can see me recover and slowly return to normal, proof indeed that you can survive cancer.
I may be 'brave' and other ladies might not have the courage to go 'au naturel' but I'm sorry if I caused offence, it was just a personal point of view. If it makes you feel good then you go for it!! Good luck with your treatment :0) xx
