I have been on the above for nearly 24 months and they appear to be doing what they' re meant to do - thank goodness.
After being on them for 14 months I started to loose a lot of my hair, mainly from the front. I could feel my hair follicles being very tender to touch.
My hair has now started to grow again but instead of having a thick head of curls I now for the first time in my life have thin straight hair.
I was wondering whether anyone else had had or is having a similar experience.
I welcome your comments.
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LorryLou
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I just lost about 40% of my hair but a girlfriend lost her straight blonde hair and now has orangey frizzy hair! She needs to have a weekly straightening at the hairdressers!
LorryLou, I've been on Ibrance and fulvestrant for 3.5 years and have had this same experience ! I lost about 30 to 40% of my hair , especially in the front. I also had wavy / curly hair and it is now straight. My original hair was very thick plus wavy/ curly so it's really strange for me now to have it dry quickly , and dry almost perfectly straight (little bit of fuzz to the texture ). The Ibrance and fulvestrant have been working really well so I am overall happy with the treatment . I do still have my hair colored as I'm still working and I guess I'm not ready to go completely gray.
I’ve been on Ibrance for 2 years. About a year ago my hair changed from straight to curly, but only in the back. The texture also changed to what I consider a bale of hay! I still haven’t found anyone who can really cut it properly, but I’m alive and breathing, so I’ll take that! Weird stuff happens!
My hair feels and looks like hay too. On Ibrance and Faslodex shots. My hair used to be thick and healthy. Now it's thin and stringy. Looks terrible. I'm also letting it go grey.
I had the same when I was on branch - thinning hair with a straw-like texture. When I went off Ibrance and moved on to other meds, my hair thickened up again and became much more healthy & shiny!!
Interesting, I've done the opposite. I now have curly hair after a lifetime of stick straight. It is an adjustment and, along with my weight gain, people often don't recognise me. Which is weird! These meds to strange things but they are keeping me alive and functioning so I'm trying to roll with it, and find new hair products and cuts that do the best with my new hair. You are not alone in surprising hair changes. Xx
I'm like TeddyChowChow - lifetime of straight, quite thick hair to thin, fine hair that curls at slightest mention of moisture, won't sit where I put it , no matter how much product I use, looks like a rats nest five minutes after washing and shaping. I've been on Ibrance and Anastrazole for 2 and half years, and happy with that, but oh my hair!
Mine was thick and wavy and it has taken 18 mths after chemo then Ibrance/Letro to get it to nape length. It’s now thick and unruly but short and I have a continuous really sore patch on the back of my head and theyve discontinued alphosyl - the only shampoo that stopped itching and soreness. It was all grey at first but has now turned brown with a bit of grey. Like you, just happy that the meds seem to keep working on my very aggressive pleomorphic 8cm tumour with 19 positive nodes.
Dear LorryLou, I'm on the same medication and I have lost a lot of hair, while what remains has changed into thin, whispy and dry, like a very old man's hair. It covers my head (no bald patches) but it grows very slowly and it can't be shaped -- no amount of blow drying or curling does anything to it. My bathroom cabinet is full of products I've bought because someone recommended them: nothing makes a blind bit of difference. I've stopped colouring it because, frankly, making no effort feels, in the circumstances, less sad than failing. I go out a lot and I just slather hair gel on it to keep it down.
Hi. I've only been on Letrozole and Ibrance for nine months, following De Novo MBC diagnosis. I have short straight hair and just lately I've notice patches of hair on the back of my head are sticking out and no amount of washing etc will flatten them, and the scalp is a tender at times, so that's a bit worrying. On the plus side all the hairs on my legs have gone which after years of shaving and waxing is a bonus! Best wishes.
I have been on Ibrance and Letrozole for almost 2 1/2 years and have lost quite a bit of volume in my hair and the texture is very different than it used to be. The front seems to be the thinnest part. I still have hair, thank goodness, but it is difficult to style. It used to be thick and coarse and wavy, now it is thin, fine and straight. I keep it cut short. I play a lot of golf so it is covered up by a hat most days. When I go out I have two cute wigs that I can wear. The Ibrance apparently stops rapidly growing cells which includes hair and nails, so hair issues are definitely a side effect. The meds seem to be working so far and for that I am grateful. Hope your meds continue to work for you as well. Sending you hugs.
I’ve been on these meds for 15 mos and have also some thinning. Mostly noticeable only to me really. I also started with super thick hair, so that helped. Also, for the past 6 months I’ve been taking a Biotin supplement and it seems to have slowed the process down. I do, however, stop it for 1 week prior to bloodwork because I think it does mess a bit with tumor marker results.
Sorry to say I shed more hair than the cat. And I vacuum up enough of her hair each week to knit myself a new cat. I dread going to the hairdresser as she goes wild with her comb. I only comb it once a day because I can’t bear to see how many hairs I shed each time. I’m on Exemestane though so I think hair problems are happening with a lot of the medications we’re on. I started with very thick wavy hair now it’s thin and straight but it will be wavy the first day I wash it. I use heaps of creams to cut the frizzy ends which a hairdresser describes as fuzzy. 😳 I’m happy to be on the right side of the grass. Horrible, vanishing hair seems to be the least of my problems. It does grow back so there’s that but I have a head full of very short layers which I can do very little with.
I was a curly girl my entire life until about 6 months ago. Now it is straight.
I dont know if this option exists for women outside the US, but if you are looking for someone to cut curly hair, search Deva Curl Cut to find a specialist near you.
I stopped using their products (some controversy surrounding them) but the haircuts were great. I still go to the same stylist and she has been really helpful with my MBC hair!
I took the ibrance for 3 years and yes hair loss but more of thinned out and no bald patches. It’s grown back now straight but I had straight hair so I d k . With this new med it looks as if shedding some again. Everything will be ok. We are alive! I wish you the best🙏✝️🌹
Hi LorryLou! I have the opposite problem! I am on Ibrance and Fulvestrant as first line treatment and my shoulder length straight as a stick hair started thinning and breaking off so I went to the salon and got a really short cut and my hair is all waves and curls! These meds cause strange and weird side effects. I’ve tried to embrace the curls because at least I have hair but I’d love to have my long straight hair back. I just hang on to the fact that the meds are working (NED for 14 months now) and just go with it! Best to you…
Hi! Yes! I had extremely thick and curly hair. It has thinned up front and is growing in straight! I just noticed this the other day!! I’ve been on Ibrance and Anastrozole since last July. I’m ok with it, but it’s daunting to have straight hair!! I don’t know what to do with it except keep it really short. 😃
I, too, have an extremely sensitive skull with a few bumps that hurt and flare with pain usually in the second week of my Ibrance cycle, then they go away. My doctor said it was an overproduction of bone marrow caused by the mets. They confuse our bones!! But, I am stable and I’m happy!!
I had the same experience. Mine started just about 6 months on Ibrance and Letrozole. I started using Routine shampoo & conditioner. The loss has slowed down considerably and I have lots of new growth. My hair was always heavy, thick, and very curly. Now it is lighter & each strand is thinner & straight(er) than it was. It condition of my hair with this shampoo is very soft & smooth, not coarse at all. I also take a Biotin supplement daily.
I am on the Jaxon vacations and have been for about a little over two years, I had the exact same problem, probably lost 2/3 of my hair, my hairdresser recommended Nutrafol, You can get it from Amazon, and I also take natures bounty hair skin and nails gummy’s, they are at Costco you can also buy the money Amazon and I’ll take four of those gummy’s along with the Nutrafol 4 capsules every day, religously, and you need to be patient and may take 3 to 4 months before you notice a change but for me the change was dramatic, I have so much more hair it’s almost hard to believe, that with these over the counter remedies that I’ve had such wonderful results. They’re basically just Vitamin B but I promise you it WORKS, emotionally for me it has made such a big difference to have some normal looking hair again, Best of luck, don’t give up it takes a while before you notice a difference
I've been on Ibrance and letrozole for two years. My hair, which I wear short, thinned a lot during the first six months or so. The volume did return but I now have a patch of curly hair above each ear. I used to be so particular about my hair. Now it's the least of my worries. I'm just happy to be here and have any hair at all.
I’ve been on this mix for nearly 5 years now. But had to have literally exchanged over to anastrozole because of terrible problems with my thumbs fingers and wrists. My oncologists is very very happy with the result and even though my CA blood Markers keep going up quite a bit she is hesitant to change my medication because she believes that I’m doing so very very well. It would be crazy to change anything at this time until something in my scans change. At the moment my scans are constantly stable.
What an incredible time to live having this medication at our disposal?
Hey LooryLou! I too have experienced hair loss, especially on the top and front part of my scalp. I take Ibrance and Faslodex. I go through cycles of hair loss to growing back in. In a recent, particularly long cycle of hair loss and dryness, I discovered a hair treatment on Amazon named Chi. It works great to infuse my hair with moisture, which stopped it from breaking. You work it in your hair with your hands, and leave it in. It's amazing, and not greasy at all. Also, I discovered cute hairbands with a top knop on them. It adds height and fullness to the top front of my hair, where it has thinned so much. I've received lots of compliments, and have had some fun hunting the website ESTY for any kind and color of headband you may want. They have hundreds, all beautifully made, and not uncomfortable at all. When life gives you lemons......😀
I also take Ibrance and Letrozole and have had a lot of success. It is over three years now. I initially lost a lot of hair but I started taking Biotin and Vitamin E and my hair is back and looking better than it did before I had mbc. So take heart and good luck. Cheers Marlene
Thank you all for your comments and advice. It is reassuring to know I am not alone with regards to my hair situation. Another question to ask does anyone else suffer with carpal tunnel as a result of this medication?
No carpal tunnel, but did start with plantar fasciitis which Dr said was probably as result of Letrozole. I also had bone & muscle pain, but all subsided after a few months once my body adjusted to the medication.
Mine has become "straw like" and unruly at times. I did notice some thinning when I first started Ibrance 5 years ago. It's odd - I seem to notice these things when others don't.
Yes, I have some thinning hair issues too, but I haven't noticed a texture change when it grows in. I have been on Ibrance and anastrozole for 5 ½ years. The worst part is the painful hair follicles. It seems to happen during very damp weather or rain. It's a relief to hear someone else complain about the sore hair follicles. My doctors are kind, but they always say that they've never heard of such a thing. When I looked it up, it seems to be a form of neuropathy.
I have been on Ibrance and Letrozole for the past 15 months. The doctor only said it would thin a little , but I have lost over 50 percent and now lately I have noticed bald spots on the top in front. I've been so upset about this. I asked my doctor every month for over a year what I could take for it and finally a month ago she said take Biotin. But I've been taking it every day since and no results. This is very upsetting because I had breast cancer in 2006 and lost all of my hair.
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