Chemo hair loss

[SammyBB]

Hi I am posting on this site as my hair loss is due to Chemotherapy 8 years ago. As well as the total loss of my eyebrows I have very little hair and have to wear a wig.

As you can imagine with the loss of my breast and hair my self esteem is at rock bottom even after all this time.

Whilst I am grateful that the cancer treatment appears to have been a success I have found there is little support for long term side effects - I have never met anyone else who has suffered long-term hair loss resulting from chemotherapy.

I was not warned that my hair loss could be permanent and the doctors only comment that it is very rare and offered no help with hair loss treatments or prescriptions for wigs - it was a neighbour who has Alopecia who told me about prescriptions!

Is there anyone else who has suffered long-term hair loss from chemotherapy out there and have you had any success with treatments?

It's very upsetting when I see people in magazines etc who 12 months after treatment are looking great when all I wanted to do was to get back to looking normal and to move on. I've cried more over this than the cancer - I sometimes wish I'd never gone to the hospital.

Sorry this is so long but I've no one else to talk to - my husband has been great but there's only so much moaning he can take so I pretend I am ok now.

[naomi92 Partner Alopecia UK]

Hi @SammyBB

It certainly sounds like you’ve been through a really tough time and I’m truly sorry to hear about how this has all affected you. I haven’t experienced chemotherapy induced hair loss myself but I do work for Alopecia UK and just wanted to signpost you towards some things you may find helpful.

First thing would be our closed Facebook group - facebook.com/groups/Alopeci...

It’s a lot more active than this forum and I can guarantee not only will you get lots of general support but there are others in there in the same situation as yourself who could provide more support and advice. I realise not everyone uses Facebook as a platform, but we have many people who sign up purely just to use our groups.

It speaks volumes that you say you feel you’ve cried more over your hair loss than the cancer itself and we certainly have a large community of people out there who will be able to really understand your emotions surrounding the hair loss.

I’m not sure where you are in the UK but you would also be most welcome at any of our face to face support groups - alopecia.org.uk/Pages/Categ...

Many people make strong, local connections with great support and handy tips.

Or you could attend our Big Weekend event, meet lots of others, find out about up to date research and discover new products and services - alopecia.org.uk/Event/big-w...

Lastly if you feel you would benefit from some more one to one peer support our staff team all have personal experience of alopecia and would be happy to talk with you via phone or email - alopecia.org.uk/contact

I do hope you find this information helpful and if there’s anything else I can do to help please do let me know.

Best wishes, Naomi (Alopecia UK)