I’m 12 days post first chemo. When can I expect to seeing hair loss. Only tiny shedding at the Moment. Kids don’t know about diagnosis so want to prepare for it
Mine started to fall soon after the second chemo, I think. It came as quite a shock even though I was expecting it. Different drugs might have different timespans, though - mine started growing back once on Docetaxol.
Have you had your hair cut short? If not, you might want to invest in a pair of clippers if you don't have them already. Unless you are using the cold cap, of course.
If you aren't cold-capping, you might find that your hair follicles get quite sore - like when your hair has been in a ponytail all day - so sometimes, shaving it off makes it more comfortable.
I don't know how old your children are (it's never easy telling them even when they're adults) so I'm putting in a link to the page on Talking to Children and Teenagers About Cancer- in case it's useful.
Hope you're feeling well 12 days after the first session
I’ve heard of cold cap does it work. The hospital didn’t offer it. So not sure if they do it. I’m at the ulster for chemo.
my kids are 13 and 18. But i want to protect them from this as long as I can. The eldest is 23 5th yr meds she onli found out by chance because the surgeon that was on to do surgery on me was her consultant that she was going to ward rounds on. I wasn’t going to tell her as she is in the middle of exams final year. Bless she’s taken it well.
Gosh, what a coincidence that your daughter was assisting your consultant. I can understand you wanting to protect your children. I only have one daughter and she was 25 when I was diagnosed, but it was still hard seeing her upset. I have a friend whose daughter was much younger - about 6 and she struggled about telling her, but in the end her daughter took it well. Sometimes, our children are more resilient than we think although we'd do anything to prevent them having to be.
Strange that your unit doesn't do the cold cap. I think it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. Most people still experience some hair loss but not as much as without it. I didn't want it because it adds about an hour and a half onto the treatment time and I'm really averse to the cold, I can't even do an ice pack on a swelling.
