hair coming out

[elainea53]

My husbands hair is starting to come out. He lost all of it on his first chemos. Now starting another series. Is there anything that would stop the hair loss. We couldnt get a ice cap.

It bothers me more than him

[CantChoose]

Personally, I think this is in the category of "accept what you cannot change."

People do use the ice caps and some swear it works for them, although our doctor and infusion nurse both said there was no evidence. Why can't you get an ice cap?

[6357axbz in reply to CantChoose]

There is at least one poster here who’s spouse used an ice cap and it worked.

[CantChoose in reply to 6357axbz]

I think it's up to the individual if they want to do chemo with ice on their head. Not sure why they can't get an ice cap (?).

But in general, you can't equate anecdotal evidence with scientific evidence. How do you know whether that person would have lost their hair without the ice cap? There's a reason for double-blind studies: humans have biases and superstitious brains.

Even if it's magical thinking though, having a perceived sense of control can serve a purpose. We listened to the girl in the adjoining area yesterday tell the nurse all about how she's "treating" her husband with essential oils. If you want to put ice on your head, more power to you. My husband is already bald, so I have no horse in the race.

[tom67inMA in reply to CantChoose]

No ice for me. My hair thinned markedly, but still had more hair than many balding friends. Kept eye lashes and brows. Lost nose and ear hair. Maybe I should have stuck an ice chip up my nose?

Just adding to the anecdotal knowledge base.

[j-o-h-n in reply to tom67inMA]

"Maybe I should have stuck an ice chip up my nose?" Bad idea, leaves no room for the coke.....

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Saturday 06/29/2019 12:10 PM DST

[Schwah in reply to 6357axbz]

I used an ice cap and it worked. Although I paid a nurse to help me change it every thirty minutes. I recommended the same company to a friend whose wife was doing chemo and she kept her hair to although it thinned out considerably. It wasn't vanity for me but rather the looks from friends and strangers where they tilt their head and say "so sorry"

[6357axbz]

Search here for “cool cap”.

Lots of info

[paulcross4]

Mine came out in clumps cycle 2 then stopped so I still have enough left to look slightly normal. I would just roll with it. Chance to wear cool hats and bandana's at work. Who wouldn't want to do that

[j-o-h-n in reply to paulcross4]

"Chance to wear cool hats and bandannas at work. Who wouldn't want to do that😊"

Senor, your glass is full to the brim..... (no half empty - no half full)

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Saturday 06/29/2019 12:16 PM DST

[Fairwind]

What flavor chemo ?? Mine came out with Dosetaxel but not with Cabazitaxel....More worrying is any Neurapathy (tingling in hands and feet) that might develop . Toe nails fall out, nasty stuff..

[Cynthgob in reply to Fairwind]

Losing the toenails worse than the hair loss. Toenails are still awful but hair looks great now.

[Pleroma]

I don't think there is anything proven out there that prevents hair loss.

In my experience, I lost 90% of my hair, but it came back strong and thick, a little more wavy, and more silver in it. This was 3-4 months after the last session.

It actually looks better than it did before chemo!

[JimVanHorn]

I had hair loss around the crown, but I thought it was from radiation. It has been 6 years now and most of my hair has grown back. I was told to use my finger tips (not my finger nails) and make little circles with my scalp tissue for about 10 minutes twice a day. This brings blood to the hair follicles which stimulates the growth of hair. I remember showering and seeing my hair in the drain, but it is mostly back again.

[6357axbz]

Hair care aside, being a cosmetic issue, neuropathy seems to be a major SE of Chemo. I’ve heard folks on this site hold that icing to hands and feet resulted in no neuropathy. Anecdotal I agree but why not go for it. As long as you can tough it out for a few hours beginning a small amount of time before infusion to an hour after.

[elainea53]

the ice on hands and feet to work

[JamesAtlanta]

Cold caps work. The idea that there is no evidence is simply wrong. It’s been used in Europe for over a decade. And it’s FDA approved in the US. I did it during 6 rounds of chemo and did not lose a hair on my head. (Of course, I lost them everywhere else.) 😉

Regarding neuropathy, it’s critical you keep your finger tips submerged in ice during the infusion. Just put on some surgical gloves, put some ice in a tray and keep your finger tips in as long as you can stand it. Then take them out for a short break and put them back in. I never had any issues with finger nail loss or neuropathy.

My feet were a different story. I did not do anything to them and to this day (3 years later) the balls of my feel feel numb. Folks on this site recommend using frozen gel pads to treat the toes and feet during infusion. I wish I had heard of that trick.

Anyway, I hope this bit of advice helps!!! Please keep us posted!

Best wishes,

James

[Consultjack]

Hi Elaine, I have had chemo three times over the past four years. My hair always falls out, then it comes back Curley. Just as I get used to curley.... it goes back to straight?

Good luck 🤡

[Rexwaterbury]

Read my post on penguin cold caps. Not without risks. I have second degree burns on my scalp using these caps. Saw a dermatologist to have two large blisters incised and drained. No more cold caps for me. I may however use one of those migraine cool caps that is not so dangerously cold.

Also doing ice to my hands and feet by putting crushed iced in large sandwich bags and cooling for hours. So far so good. Also sucking on ice chips to preserve my taste buds.

Rex

[EdBar]

I just shaved my head and embraced my baldness. After chemo hair came back better than ever, the bald spot in the back I had prior to chemo is now gone.

Ed

[DSEE]

This is the wife of DSEE- we both post here.

We are also in 2nd round of chemo and losing hair.

First dose in 2016

Many drugs in between

Now liver Mets and back on taxotere-Hair coming out-

Hospital stay after first dose-

But he is hanging in there.

Bothers him more than me.

But he actually ordered a wig that looks remarkably like his original head of hair and makes him feel better to say the least-

Try that route !

We were not given the ice cap during first chemo either.

Oncologist says they can cause burned scalp and delay hair regrowing.

Fight on!

[MichaelDD]

I had stage 2 breast cancer at age 50. I'm 65 now. 4 months of chemo after my radical mastectomy I can remember how proud (after my first session) that I hadn't lost my hair. Seeing my Oncologist I pointed that to her. She was 5 foot nothing. Me sitting on the table she patted my head and said "it won't be here next time". She was right. I was a newborn hairless by the time chemo ended. Nothing nowhere!

Between the end of breast and finding my aPC at age 62 I got neuropathy. Many doctors visits no one has been able to explain why. My late 30s I was in a car accident when a dump truck hit me at a stop light from behind. It crushed me in a totalled car. 5 spinal surgery fusions later (they were horrendous) doctors don't know if it's the chemo (from breast chemo) or the fusions that have caused it. Anything that you may think works to keep it away try it!

No matter how bad it is I've handled it. Chemo is in my future so I'm not so worried about losing my hair again. I'm still here and I can wear a ball cap! I'm also fortunate now that after a radical mastectomy I don't have man boobs!! 9 months on Lupron (8 on Zytiga) and still flat chested.

The hair is a short term issue. Quickly it goes and comes back. Hopefully he will look at this long term. For me that is my 3 sons , daughter in-laws and grandkids. Hopefully remind him of that...

Best to you both Michael.

[Collarpurple in reply to MichaelDD]

❤️

[Collarpurple]

If it ok with him hey it’s only hair

I think Why it bothers you isYou hate that he has to have chemo and what it does to them but It’s all the side effects it reminds you all the time of this horrible disease

[Patrick-Turner]

I lost all of my hair after 5 chemo shots. My toe and finger nails stopped growing and began to shorten, and were on their way out.

By then Psa had gone from 12 to 50, so chemo had failed and I switched to Lu177. Its 8 months after doing the 5 chemo shots and the small amount of hair I had before chemo has all come back, toe and finger nails are like nothing happened and neuropathy in legs is much better. My mind seems to have coped well despite what they say about Docetaxel.

I don't know if ice caps work, but at a hospital in Melbourne, they get ppl exercising in the gym right after getting their chemo; they say the exercise reduces all the horrible side effects.

I drove to hospital for No 1 chemo, but was on my bicycle after 5 days. Then for next 4 chemo shots I cycled 20km to hospital to get each shot, then cycled 20km home. But in 8 days after I got each shot I cycled only 15km, but then worked up to 25km every day so that's what worked for me.

My town Canberra has the best cycling facilities in Australia. I was 71.

I kept cycling through the time I had Lu177. Then a hip got sore, probable combined Pca effects plus arthritis, so I now am not cycling. But I'll be OK because I might get a hip joint because Lu177 has made Psa go low, so docs might to the hip op.

I did not care what I looked like when I lost my hair. I just ain't that vain, and my friends did not abandon me, so really, things could have been worse, but they were not.

I lost a sister to Oa, and she lost her hair at 60 with 4 chemos that just gave her a few more months to live, and then she died.

Have a nice Sunday,

Patrick Turner.

[gleason9guy]

I would suggest being supportive and accepting. Buy him an electric razor and have him shave it all before it falls into his lap or his food. It just comes with the territory and it will come back. It's just hair.

[j-o-h-n]

Forget the ice cap for your upper head .... concentrate on the ice jock.....for the lower one...

Good Luck, Good Health and Good Humor.

j-o-h-n Saturday 06/29/2019 12:20 PM DST

[RalphieJr64]

Losing his hair is the last thing you should be concerned with.

[Hidden]

Everybody is different. I had 9 infusions of Taxotere alternated with 9 infusions of Adrimyacin over a six month period. My hair only thinned the first two weeks, but took the curl out. I lost all body hair. Nails were remarkably well. Only had lines which subsequently grow out......

Support your husband and don’t let it bother you.

GD

[monte1111]

Lost a lot of hair on head. Came out in clumps. Rest turned white. Lost almost all bodily hair. Didn't have to shave. How great was that? I always had long hair, a 67 year old rejected hippy. Did not go skin head like everyone I knew. Making my statement. Walk into a room and a friend would say "What happened to your hair?!" I would say just getting older. Of course they would know why in 10 minutes. People do talk. Mustache and eyebrows are still almost nonexistent. A cold facial mask? Lost 2 big toe nails, have grown back but one bothers me. The foot neuropathy is a big deal! Came right after end of 8 cycles chemo. Hair is brown again and I need to get a haircut. Nobody told me - ice the feet!

[R410a]

Used Penguin Ice cap and worked fine. It requires a number of steps and someone to help with the cap changes. There is a cost for this. Depends on how important not losing you hair is. Check out Penguin web site.

If chemo has already started, my be too late. Save for next round.