hair regrowth after chemo

jergen · New User Joined: 14 Dec 2006 Posts: 7

Just wondering from people who have lose their hair due to chemo. About how long did it take to grow back? Just curious how long it would take to grow to about shoulder length. I know everyone is different but just wanted to see how it was for other people.

jfkbluecircle · Posted: Tue Jan 30, 2007 5:19 pm Post subject: Re: hair regrowth after chemo

I had advanced HL almost 10 years ago now (stage IIIB). My hair started growing back in even while I was still undergoing chemo. It was strange in texture at first, but with regular trims it grew back quickly. I think the rate at which it re-grew was comparable to the pre-chemo rate.

SHANELLE85 · Regular Joined: 06 Jun 2006 Posts: 31

Hey,
I was 20 when i got diagnosed with h/d at stage 2. and it was very hard 2 come 2 terms with loosing my hair but my hair started growing back pretty much straight away after my last chemo session but i couldnt wear it out until 3 months later and it was still very short but i was just so sick of wearing hats and beanies!! but now its been 9 months since i finished chemo and my hair is still short but i no longer looks strange 2 me or other ppl coz it looks like i cut my hair on purpose. so shoulder lenghth would probably take atleast 1 and a half to 2 years 2 grow.
but dont worry you will get there.. i had very long hair wen i lost it and i no how hard it is but trust me things get better.
hope everything goes well 4 u Smile

mizchief · Regular Joined: 18 Mar 2007 Posts: 14 Location: scotland

hi, i'm new here but have just been taking a look around.

my son had chemo and his hair grew back very quickly. i think it might have been because he was on an immunosuppressant drug which commonly causes lots of hairgrowth. he had chemo in november and by feb he had a nice little growth coming through. but, rather oddly, it grew back extremely curly! his hair was always very straight. his barber said the curls would be their for life, they were so tight straight from the root! it turns out he was wrong. around september he had a good haircut and then ended up with just wavy hair until gradually it went straight again.

hope that helps Smile

x x x

CrescentMoon · Regular Joined: 07 Apr 2007 Posts: 22

How long does it take to lose your hair?? And does it happen to everyone on chemo??
_________________
x_x 0_x x_0 ^_^ -_+

Vee Smith · Moderator Joined: 12 Feb 2006 Posts: 796 Location: UK

Depends on the chemo :
* Adriamycin causes complete hair loss on the head, usually during the first few weeks of treatment. Some women also lose eyelashes and eyebrows.
* Methotrexate thins hair in some people but not others. And it's rare to have complete hair loss from methotrexate.
* Cytoxan and 5-fluorouracil cause minimal hair loss in most women, but some may lose a great deal.
* Taxol usually causes complete hair loss, including head, brows, lashes, pubic area, legs, and arms.

My hair fell out about 6 weeks into chemo.

CrescentMoon · Regular Joined: 07 Apr 2007 Posts: 22

THX ^^
_________________
x_x 0_x x_0 ^_^ -_+

Heather_21 · New User Joined: 06 Jul 2007 Posts: 2

I know the last post was quite some time ago but I just wanted to add that I've just finished 6 cycles of ABVD and my hair never completely fell out.

In January when I was diagnosed my oncologist in her words "guaranteed" me that my hair would be 100% gone by the beginning of February. So being the girl that I am (21 years old btw) I went out and bought the best damn wig I could find - cost me a fortune none the less but - I was determined to look my best if not better than before.

After the first treatment my hair got this odd texture - like a frizzy dry split end disgusting feeling - I went and got it cut. I figured that would make it less psychologically draining if I had to watch myself go bald with short hair. The time past and got a few more treatments under my belt and everyday I would dread looking in the mirror for fear it would be the day my beautiful head would be naked. (I'm getting married in November and had been growing my hair for 2 years when dx - the thought of losing the hair I had worked so hard to get long and pretty was horrible).

SO anyways - to stop babbling - my hair never completely came out - I've had 3 haircuts since January - each one shorter in hopes that the thinness and mini bald spot can be hidden.

I've come to accept it now - in the beginning the possibility of losing my hair was the scariest thing but now - the fact that I'm alive and typing this seven months of hell later - makes it seem like nothing.

brainman · Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2007 8:53 am Post subject: Re: hair regrowth after chemo

I know I am not a woman so hair is not as important to me, so I got my head shaved before my first biopsy in 1992. I received chemo for 13 months after the biopsy and my hair did not grow back until after the chemo ended. However, it came back rather rapidly once I finished my chemo.
_________________
Jim
Site Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendoglioma grade 3, same location.
My Story Part 1: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?p=7350
My Story Part 2: http://cancerforums.net/viewtopic.php?t=8029
Blog http://jimhawkinsport.blogspot.com/

	Cancer Forums Forum Index -> Lymphoma - Hodgkin's and Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma Forum	All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

A website for discussions about any type of cancer, including lung cancer, breast cancer, mesothelioma, prostate cancer, laryngeal cancer, leukemia, lymphoma, multiple myeloma and others