Well I think this is going to be my last week with hair. I thought I was doing well as I had my first chemo on 20th June and for the first 10 days my hair was fine, but since Monday its been falling out fast every time I wash it or brush it I fine loads of it falling out. Plus I have lost half my left eyebrow , I have my wigs ready so I can still go out and go to work, I know it will feel strange the first time I wear it in public. I know it takes a while to grow back after treatment but if the Chemo shrinks the tumor I guess its a price worth paying. So I will be posting a new picture of me soon but I'm still the same Babs inside.
Hope your all keeping Well Love to everyone Babs x x x
Written by
doreenharwood
To view profiles and participate in discussions please or .
Sending you a big hug. This is probably the worst it gets. I know some people get it shaved off to avoid the process of it dropping out. There may be a specialist hair salon near you. Did you try the cold cap? I was wondering whether it would be worth it but I'm generally far too impatient to spend another couple of hours in hospital fiddling with 3 different caps.
Luckilly you're good at make up. I'm rubbish at that too. My friend looked absolutely wonderful without her hair. Like you she wears glasses and she took the time to put on her eyeliner and some chunky ear-rings.
Thinking of you and wishing it was brighter weather. I'm in London for the weekend. Went to the production of Midsummer Night's Dream in Regent's Park Open Air Theatre last night. Lucky for us the evening was fine but the whole place was awash from previous rain storms.
Hi Babs . Probably too late for the coldcap as needs to be done at the 1st treatment . Anyone i know has still lost their hair but has thinned rather than all fallen out . Glad you have your wigs ready . Know it is a confidence thing but really the only person who knows are the people aware of your illness and you . I remember meeting people who didnt know and getting comments about how nice my hair was . I found it easier to shave all mine off as hated it falling out in lumps
I had my first chemo on 21st June, and last Weds my hair suddenly started to come out in big clumps, so it looks like I shall be having it cropped on Monday, but still, like you all say, it's a small price to pay
Hi Ladies re the cold cap I did ask for it but was told it would not help because of the intense Chemo I will be receiving. There was a lady having the cold cap when I was having my chemo but she was only there for a couple of hours, where as I was there for over 5 hours. So guess it does not work for everyone. Still as my daughter says think of all the money I will save on haircuts, plus one of my wigs has highlights and they cost me £75.00 to have done. Love and hugs to everyone Babs x x x
Once you get over the shock it can be very liberating, especially when you go away for holidays. No hair dryer, no straightners and no hair products. Means you can pack a few more clothes. Take care. Love Chris x x
• in reply to
I agree Chris it can be very liberating love x G x
hi just wanted to leave a message for u all.... if the chemo works thats the main thing... we women need our hair. but if we can live... we will manage with wigs for a while...be strong... be brave... sounds easy but boy is it hard... ha ha the last time someone said that to me i wanted to hit and scream at them... best wishes and god bless to u all x
Hi I agree with you we can live without hair. I have been getting stronger each day re this condition. I am so positive about it and I feel I will pull through , Thank you for your support Love and hugs Babs x x
Good luck with the wigs! I finished 1st lot of chemo at the end of March 2010 and had enough to go bareheaded in Verona at the beginning of July! Did you ty the cold cap? I decided against because no one I spoke to found that it worked.
Hi Margaret I asked for the cold cap but they said it would not work. So I will put up with loosing my hair, But as everyone says we can live without hair. Its a small price to pay for life. Love and hugs Babs x x
Everyone I met who had it said it was very uncomfortable and it did not work and I, like you, was having 6 hour chemo sessions and the cold cap would have extended it to 8 hours at least! I have not regretted it, I did not even bother to wear my wig! I minded losing the eyelashes though! I got to be a dab hand with the old eyeliner, LOL, shades of my youth! La rive gauche & Juliette Greco in the late 50's! Mind you I had hair I could sit on then!
Know how you feel. Lost all my hair on 1st line carbo/taxol, but kept it through carbo/ caelyx and trhough carbo alone. Just had my first cycle of gemzar/carbo, never even thought about losing my hair, had a great haircut on Monday and on Wed. my hair started coming out in handfulls. Wonder if it was the rather hot water they washed my hair with, dont think so. I am shocked, trying to be philosophical like you, but just did not expect it.
First timer on here, but am amazed at all the positive wonderful people that make comments, I was diagnosed with Peritoneal cancer 10/7/2008, so my 5th year coming up, I had op within week of being diagnosed and chemo 6 times(1 day every 3 weeks), Ca 125 went up again 15 months later and had second lot of chemo, I handled both quite well considering some of the other ladies going through the same thing, I lost my hair both times and knew I was going to but as most of us know still can be daunting, I cried for about 5 mins the first time and then never thought about it again, I didn't feel comfortable with a wig and only wore one twice, to 2 weddings I had to go to, I found some beautiful scarfs and headware so was very good with that, I still have the cancer but am dealing with it in a good way, I still do what I want to do and don't dwell on it too much, my husband is great and so is my family we are all very close, I hope I haven't rattled on too much, I must say that I have never gone to counselling or support groups about this but when I came across this site I felt I had to respond.
This site is great, I have a look every day and often write a blog or a question. I was diagnosed in May with Primary Peritoneal cancer and like everyone it was a shock. I thought I had IBS, how wrong I was. Still getting on with life have had 1 chemo next one Wednesday. Everyone on Overcome is very supportive and I have gained a lot of knowledge about this condition from all the other ladies on the site. Love and hugs Babs x x
Daer Jorja, you've done so well over the last 4/5 years. I hope you find this site helpful. I feel as though I'm among friends even though we never meet up. It's always good to be able to ask questions - particularly about treatments or ideas to keep going.
I really hope you continue to be fit and well. One thing this condition does for me is to remind me is how blessed I've been to have such a wonderful husband and family and to have a resource like Ovacome for the times when it gets tough.
Thank you for your reply also, I must admit when I was first diagnosed I thought the worst, but never actually thought I would be here 4 years later, I am a bit apprehensive about the 5th year given some of the items I have read on this cancer, but I am continuing to be in healthy spirits and doing lots of things, I retired last year, so have a bit more time to do things I want to do, hope this finds you well, take care xx
Welcome to our community, you will get a lot of support on here, like you I was diagnosed four years ago, I went to my GP with a lump on 11/07/2008 (it also happened to be my birthday) had op/chemo / etc had a recurrence more chemo (lost my hair twice) now in remission and like you finished work last year... hope you are well love x G x
One advantage to losing your hair in the summer is your head is so much cooler when you are not wearing your wig however it can be a bit itchy when you do. I brought a little cotton cap that fits under the wig which really helped.
I have lost my hair twice in 18 months now and am due to lose it again at the end of the year when I start further treatment. You soon get used to it and can have a laugh about it.
My son used to always snigger when people came up to me and say I love your new hair style or colour.
You have a great attitude and it is true you are still you whether you have hair or not. After all I think to myself if I didn't have these treatments I wouldn't be here now to spend time with my family.
I agree family are the most important thing in life and if I have to loose my hair to be with them so be it. At least there will be no bad hair days for a while and my wigs look great on very natural Love and hugs Babs x x
Been trying to put a photo on for ages and just about worked it out today.
Not thinking too much about September. I have so much planned over the next 3 months with my boys and the other children I childmind.
I did say to my friend the other day I was looking forward to September so I could have a bit of a rest. She laughed and said only you would think that!!
My husband said he could not shave my head as it would be too upsetting for him. I asked my daughter and she has said she will do it. I'm so lucky to have her she has been so strong since I was diagnosed and does not treat me any different which I like. As I say I'm not ill, I just have a condition ( Which I will fight )
I'm 5 weeks post my last chemo and have fuzzy new baby hair just starting! I found the hair falling out stage the most upsetting too. My husband shaved mine and that was the turning point. Felt better after a shopping spree for nice hats and scraves (I didn't go for the wig option). My head feels lovely now when it is hot with a lovely silk scarf on- it's surprising how quickly you adjust. Good luck with it all and hope the chemo kicks cancer right where it hurts!!!
I so feel for you with losing your hair and admire your positive spirit. I was diagnosed 5 years ago just before Christmas. Made a big joke that I was going to get one red and one green wig. However, when it came to actually losing my hair I was too cowardly at first to shave it off. I was cured of my reluctance, however, when walking down the road to exchange a jumper that didn't fit me. It was an incredibly windy day, and I suddenly saw that loads and loads of my hair had blown off and was stuck all over the black coats of two women in front of me!! Then, despite taking great care - on trying on a jumper in the shop, I then had to sit in the changing room for ten minutes trying to pick off all the hair I had deposited it on it. I went straight home and cut off the remainder, although I did try, fruitlessly, to preserve my fringe.
Just saying Hi to all the fabulous ladies out there braving the cancer and the effects of thr treatments.
Beauty tip - if you make up you will feel more confident and look a million dollars however, this leaves ones head looking rather white, my beauty tip is to use a large blusher brush and bronzer for the head - then you really will look fabulous.
I was lucky enough to be wearing my wigs through the winter months and even then they were so hot. If I lose it again but in the summer I will simply go natural - but with the bronzer and make over of course.
One thing to look forward to is trying new styles once your hair starts to grow back.
The new hair will be at virgin state - as in not chemically treated with tints, peroxides or other.
Sometimes it comes back like baby hair but mine didn`t it came back really strong and thicker than ever before. I continued to wear my wigs because I found the grey too aging for me. So, once it reached a long enough length I have a semi permanent colour. This is gentle to your hair and scalp and doesn`t carry the same alergy risks as permanent tints. However, still remember to do a skin test if you are doing this at home. I would really recommend a good hair salon. You can have fun with waxes and gels to give your new hair a messy trendy look - this look suits all with very little hair.
Then once your hair reaches a good length - if you were blonde before and want to go blonde again, you can have some bleach cap highlights or high lift if you have no darker tones previoulsy applied. Cap highlights will protect your scalp from the strong chemicals because some people may find their scalp a little sensitive after chemo - I didn`t but some may do.
Then about a year after last chemo you should be ready for anything.
14 months sown the line for me now and my hair is back to how it was before a short graduated bob and lots of different shades of blonde highlights. Two weeks ago I had foil highlights which means you can experiment with several different shades and a good stylist can get right down to the root with out a bleed.
Now I just need to battle with the wight but I am doing a very healthy diet and hope some of it goes.
Hey Babs, When I started my chemo - same thing - after about 10 days hair started to fall!! I'd already had it cut shorter - but it started to look odd and patchy. My hubby said it was like living with a German Shepherd!! Hair in every corner of the room... so he took me in the garage and buzzed my head with his clippers!! Quite a shock I admit - but had wigs and actually got asked where I had my hair done once when out!!! It's the eyebrows and eyelashes that give the game away but a tip ok? Don't use eyebrow pencil - it's too harsh. Use a taupey eye shadow and 'feather' the shape of your browline on. For your eyes get a boots No7 metallic eye pencil in green, grey or brown and do under your eyes as well as along the lid. This seems to open them up. My hair has grown back since Jan this year, although extremely thick and curly, which I hope will go as it is impossible to wear the wigs any more - and it's bloody grey!!!! I have been a blonde for the past 35 years and do not recognise myself in mirrors!! Scarey!! So, going to hair technician to see if I can return to me in the very near future. Not sure what to do about the frizz tho!! Hope this helps - be brave - it is just our vanity and a small price to pay if all turns out good !! x
Wearing my wig today for the 1st time it looks ok but its hot already, I am at work this evening I feel nervous but its so thin now and is falling out fast and I'm frightened hair may fall into peoples food. ( I'm a waitress ) so better safe than sorry. Love from Babs x x
Hair style really suits you. Is it how you had your hair before or did you go for something new?
My first wig matched my old hair style but my second one is completely different. It is very similar to yours and makes me look younger.
The trouble is now my hair has grown back and it is grey and curly - it was like this when it grew back before but as my wig was short it didn't notice so much when I dyed my hair. I am going to go from being younger looking and glamourous to looking like my grandmother!!
Hi Jackie, when I was first diagnosed my hair was quite long and dark. When I was told I was going to loose it I went out and bought 2 wigs then had my hair cut to match the wigs. Although my hair cut only lasted 2 weeks before my hair started coming out in handfuls. When I went to work last night all the regulars in the pub said your hair looks nice as one of my wigs has gold and blond high lights they just though I had high lights done. So that made me feel good . Like you they said I looked younger ( I'm 58 this year) so that was a boost. Love and hugs Babs x x x
Content on HealthUnlocked does not replace the relationship between you and doctors or other healthcare professionals nor the advice you receive from them.
Never delay seeking advice or dialling emergency services because of something that you have read on HealthUnlocked.
Hair loss
Hair today, no hair tomorrow
