Hi everyone . I had a stem cell transplant first week in April .
Happy to say I'm recovering really well at home . I have lost most of my hair as I was expecting too but so far I see no sign of any new growth .
I was wondering how long other people have waited to see the first signs of new hair growing ?
Best wishes to all
Sue
Hi Cakie,
I have not had any experience of stem cell transplants but did lose some of my hair during chemotherapy so I hope it is ok to reply.
I used the cooling cap so my hair thinned all over, probably lost about 50% but it's hard to judge. I had some regrowth during my chemo but afterwards I reckon it was a good couple of months before I saw signs of proper regrowth (not just fine hairs) I think it was around 3-4 months for a healthy regrowth to show.
I am now 9 months post final chemo and have thick, healthier looking hair, just about touching shoulders at back and a just passing ears at front. The cooling cap only reaches so far, so it did not cover the bits around ears- so that is totally new growth. Although I did keep some hair I can still see what is new regrowth as it is all different lengths and much better condition. Although I haven't got what I would call chemo curls I did notice the hair regrowth was a different texture at first and it took a while to return to what I normally have.
I found to begin with I was checking daily but then all of a sudden it was coming in. I took a photo each week for myself to show the difference and this gave me confidence that although it was slow, it was coming back.
Hope this helps.
Jane
Hi Sue Cakie and welcome to this corner of the community, I don’t have Myeloma but have had 2 Allo (donor) Stem Cell Transplants (SCTs) for my rare type of incurable Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
As you may know, coolng caps are not allowed when going through chemo or even SCTs for any blood cancer as we must get the full force of the treatment in every area of the body.
I lost my hair three times, once during my main chemo tthen cut it all off for my 2 SCTs…..
You are only 9 weeks out from SCT and your hair growth will depend on the type of conditioning you had to take your immune system down as the after effects of this very strong treatment can affect the body for some time….. and even the de elopement of your new immune system can have an effect on the growth of hair.
I started seeing light fuzz at about 3 months. The hospital I had my SCTs at had a Wellness Centre with a few hairdressers for cancer patients and I was told cut my hair short at about 3 months as this would help it regrow quicker and even…… but at about 9 months post SCT I had a good length of hair and required a hair cut.
You may find it helpful to join our dedicated Stem cell transplant support group as the SCT process is rather unique.
((hugs))
Sue, my head SCT Consultant told me that going through SCT is like doing a boxing match and a marathon every day over the months of treatments and this was done without any training.
Think doing the London Marathon without any training and you had to finish it as your life depended on it……. this is the journey you and your hair have been on so it most likely will take much longer than you would think to get back to some normality…… but you will get there.
In some respects you are basically a 9 week old baby in an adults body…… your immune system is that of a baby and its going to take 6-12 months before you start getting all your re-vaccinations as SCT has killed all your childhood vaccinations off…… so yes it’s going to take time.
My second SCT as back in Oct 2015 a month before my 60th birthday - I was 67 last November and am living a great life (you can see my story through the link at the bottom)
You may find d this ongoing chat in our SCT group helpful Life after a SCT - A Survivor's Guide ((hugs))
