Treatment side effects

Hi Debbi

I had chemotherapy x4 and 30sessions of radiotherapy in July/August of 2017. The cisplatin chemotherapy didn't affect hair but the radiotherapy did. I lost all hair from my ear line down to my neck. It wasn't that bad to be honest, I had a few days when it upset me as I lost it quite quickly but to be honest the other symptoms (I was very sick) took my mind of the hair loss.

I kept my hair in a long Bob, when it was down you couldn't even see the hair loss. 

It grew back quickly, by Oct I had a grade 1/2 and it looked like I had a trendy undercut. A few months later and I could tie it up in a pony tail and people barely noticed. 

So please do not worry as it is a temporary thing.

Take care

Lisa

Good evening debbi, this is quite common practice to do radio and chemo after an operation and with your history, it sounds as if they want to give you the full works as the radio and chemo will kill off any stray cells or any stray bits of the tumour that might be still present, my consultant like many more called it "belt and braces". I had chemo but did not lose any hair but I don't think it affects men in that way as much. I'm sure you will get a few more bits of advice tomorrow from others on this site. Wishing you all the best for Thursday. Please come back if you need further advice or reassurance, take care.

                                                                           Chris x

Hi Debi. 
I didn’t have chemo but I know plenty of people who have. The standard is cisplatin and that doesn’t cause hair loss. It can cause hearing loss and tinnitus in susceptible people so if you have tinnitus already you should mention it as there is an alternative. 
The RT that I had caused a small amount of hair to fall out at the nape of my neck but that soon grew back

There are a few side effects of radiotherapy that your consultant will make you aware of. A very sore mouth and throat are pretty standard as are burns of some degree to the neck. More significant us the long term decrease in saliva which means a lifelong obsession with cleaning your teeth. 
Not everybody is severely affected. We are all different. 
Good luck and keep coming back as problems arise. 
A couple of us , me and Hazel RadioactiveRaz have blogs you can have a look at. Hazel had both chemo and RT. I’m sure she’ll be along soon with her words of wisdom. 
oh and take a look at MikeO he has a blog too. 

Hi Dani

Thank you so much for your response. It’s such a comfort to hear from others who have been through similar experiences and can share. I have a loving family and friends but even so I do feel as though it’s quite a lonely journey. I feel very protective towards my children and elderly parents and so I appreciate this forum all the more. I just hope I can navigate my way around it. Thanks so much again.

Hello Chris

Thanks so much for your response. It’s such an unknown area and so to hear from you is immensely reassuring. Many thanks for taking the time. I hope you’re doing really well. 

Hi Lisa

Many thanks for your response. I am really comforted to know how your treatment went. My imagination is running away from me and to hear a factual account is greatly reassuring. Thank you so much for taking the time to help. I hope you’re doing really well. 

Hello Debbi it's pretty much all been covered by the guys above and there are loads of us on here who've been through this and come out the other side. It's no picnic but you'll have a great team to help you through, but one thing I would say is they're very busy, even more so at the moment (I personally know a nurse who was working for Macmillan who was transferred back into her old job in ITU to cope with the current situation); so if you have any worries or questions at all then you may need get a bit assertive. If you're quiet they'll probably assume you're OK, so never "grin and bear" anything.

Hi

I too had RT and chemo-Carboplatin. I also lost my hair from my ear down but, 6 months later have a nice thick lot regrowing. In fact, I thought my all over hair terrible until hubby grabbed a photo prior to treatment and even I had to admit that it doesn't look too much different. I found myself swept up in this almost dizzying array of tests and consultants from June 2019 to november 2019 but, it almost gave me a focus to get through it all. The teams (should you need them) are so helpful and upbeat that, my weekly meeting with the Mac nurse, speech lady and dietician swept me along in a river of positivity.

Wishing you the best.

Tricia