I had my hair trimmed yesterday for the first time! It was kind of exciting. I told my hair dresser that my hair was virgin hair, since I haven't used a blow dryer or even conditioner on it yet. I was glad to have some of the gray cut off. It seemed to start growing back VERY gray and then got darker. Now it looks like I actually cut it this way, instead of just how it grew back in. I'm sure no one else thought that, but I knew it. Now I need to decide if I should color it again or not.
L & H,
Kathy
Another highlight of a breast cancer survivor's life, the first haircut!!! My daughter's hair was so beautiful when it came in, shiny. salt and pepper colored and just so pretty. BUT she got some Nice 'n Easy and made it blonde again. I couldn't talk her out of it. Hugs MK
Oh, my, how close together we are. My first trim is scheduled for November 1st. As for the gray, oh my gosh, there is so much that when I go outside in the sunlight, my hair is predominantly white. Before I had lots of gray on the top, but virtually no where else. I, too, do not know what to do for color -- I had a dark ash blond on it before.
Judy
we all are very close to each other I haven't got my hair trimmed yet waiting for it to get alittle longer. I had a lot of white in my hair too and it came back with light curls. I colored it over a month ago and it worked great I put it back to my light brown hair color. Everyone at work say they like my hair. I was amazed how it grow back with a style of its own and it really isn't bad lol I went to sally's and got the color that has conditioners in it figured that would be better for me and the color dye there is more like the color they use in beauty shops. Explore your new color and new hair and have some fun with it. I do feel more normal now. I am back to work, have my natural hair color back and each day I feel stronger and stronger. Life is going well for me now. Today I am going to a luncheon were I work for breast cancer it is open to the community too and from what I hear they do it every year, guess they give us gifts and have a nice meal with linens tableclothes ect. I am looking forward to it. I guess at least 60 survivors are there. I am going to get dressed up for it. First time I have gotten dressed up since I got cancer.....gonna jet... skeeter1
Oh Skeeter, that sounds wonderful. I found out yesterday that my radiation oncologist's office has a party for the patients in Dec. They are going to order some of my baked goods for it. It should be fun.
L & H,
L & H,
Kathy
Kathy, Judy & Skeeter
How long after the last treatment did you need a cut? and how long is it now? I have just 8 weeks of chemo left and Im counting the days. I hope mine comes in at least a little wavy and maybe not so much grey!!! Im probably asking too much. I still have hair all over my head but only about an 8th of an inch.
Skeeter How was the luncheon? tell us all about it.
Hugs:)
How long after the last treatment did you need a cut? and how long is it now? I have just 8 weeks of chemo left and Im counting the days. I hope mine comes in at least a little wavy and maybe not so much grey!!! Im probably asking too much. I still have hair all over my head but only about an 8th of an inch.
Skeeter How was the luncheon? tell us all about it.
Hugs:)
Bernadette
I finished chemo at the end of April. I was able to stop wearing the wig in early June. It was short and thin, but I was just tired of the wig. It's growing pretty slowly. My hair stylist said it will take a while to start growing at the same rate it used to. She has a roommate who has been dealing with ovarian cancer, so she's very familiar with how the treatments affect you. My hair came in VERY GRAY, so I hope you are luckier than me. I'm glad you have been doing pretty well during your chemo. Are you going to have radiation afterwards? Once you are done with chemo and your mind clears from the chemicals, time will start seeming normal again. I can't believe that this past Friday was 1 year since my mastectomy! NOW, it seems like time went fast. During treatment, everything was in slow motion. You are almost there, so hang in there!
L & H,
L & H,
Kathy
Wow, a year, huh! I am so impressed, but mine was on December 21, 2004, so I, too, will be on a year soon. As for the wig. I have not completely stopped wearing it yet, about half and half. I plan to stop wearing it on November 1st when I get my first hair cut. And as for the gray hair, mine looks white in the sunshine. I still have not decided what do do about its color. I might keep it, but I have a light olive complection and the color does not look good on me. I am having a "make-over" on Thursday pm at the Estee Lauder counter. I plan to let them deal with the make-up colors and then, we'll see. Right now, I am happy to have hair.
Judy
Judy
I haven't decided about the color either. Most people say it's very pretty, but my husband wants me to color it. He also doesn't like the way I've been styling it. Everyone else loves it, including me. I say majority rules! LOL
L & H,
L & H,
Kathy
well girls the luncheon was great there were 220 people there more then I thought would be. We had a speaker she was a 30yr survivor and a Dr in womens health she was funny and interesting. They gave away little gifts like notepad pens ect and we all got a pin to put on our clothes it was very cool but hard to discribe, but nice and pretty big too. They fed us with salad chicken and cake decorated with a big pink ribbon and white frosting. They went through the years of survivors 0mos to 40 yrs and had everyone stand when they came to your yrs of survival. We had two who had survived for 40 yrs wow huh!!! They do this every year I guess. Sorry it took so long to get back to you about this I have been working now of a month 12hr shifts and it seems to be doing ok. Its wonderful to be back to work and the girls I work with are very supportive.... gonna jet... skeeter1
Hey Girls,
I am a hairstylist and my moms hair came in really gray and curly, but the gray was GREAT. We added a few highlights when it got long enough and it looked a beautiful platinum blonde (hot mamma) We had a lot of fun styling it. You ladies need to have fun with your new haircuts. Find a Fun and Sensitive stylist and let her experiment with your hair til you find what you love!
Good luck on the new DOS
MaryBeth
I am a hairstylist and my moms hair came in really gray and curly, but the gray was GREAT. We added a few highlights when it got long enough and it looked a beautiful platinum blonde (hot mamma) We had a lot of fun styling it. You ladies need to have fun with your new haircuts. Find a Fun and Sensitive stylist and let her experiment with your hair til you find what you love!
Good luck on the new DOS
MaryBeth
Hey girls:
I've been a little gunshy these past months. I haven't had it to give and didn't want to get retraumatized by reading the posts and going through it with you. I'm sorry for that. You may find that you need to take care of yourselves that way sometimes, or you may not. I know the other veterans have been there for you, as they were for me and my cohort (candy and erin). They have been great too. We went through it together too. It's a wonderful thing to have others to experience this with. No one understands like we do. Just wait until a gathering. Candy, Erin and I will always have a special connection thanks to that gathering and our similar "schedules."
I really felt the freedom when I was able to believe, not just tell myself that my hair looked normal after the first haircut. I hadn't been normal in so long, it was such a wonderful feeling. I also remember wondering if my scalp would stain if I colored my hair because my hair was very thin at first and I thought you could see through it (I guess that came from being bald). I thought I would have a reddish scalp because that was the color he tried at first. I had a hairdresser who really cared for me and about me. He was my cancer hairdresser, as it turned out, because I wasn't as able to return to him when I went back to work and went back to my regular hairdresser. As it turned out, I didn't have to worry about the scalp, I have a head full of waves and curls, and I kept it short, something I NEVER thought I'd do.
Keep on talking to each other like that. You'll make it through everything together!
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." -Confucius
Ellen
"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall." -Confucius
Ellen
Good morning, everyone. My first haircut is getting closer -- Tuesday. Bernadette, I can't believe you still have any hair at all after A/C! I finished Taxol on June 27th. In the middle of June, I touched my head and noticed I had "pricklies". By the middle of July, I could see a few long white hairs. By August 1st, I had black shadows on my head, my eyebrows and my eyelashes. According to my med onc.,Taxol prevents hair from growing -- not falling out. Yeah -- I don't believe that! Taxol got my brows, lashes and the little hair that had started to grow back.
My hair has come back really grey. Frankly, I am just glad to have it. According to some "experts", your hair comes back thicker than before. Well, I believe that might be true. My hair is really thick and "woolly" feeling -- soft, but just like what is on a sheep! The scraggly white, cat-fur (called so by my hairdresser) hair is about an inch to an inch and a half long. The other hair, mixed white and dark, is about half inch long. Sorry for the negative hair info, Bernadette, but I hope it helps.
See ya.
Judy
Gosh I think I was very lucky with my hair I only had the fussy cat fur on my neck otherwise my hair came back with light curls and normal looking. I have dyed my hair twice now. I put it a light brown my normal color and I don't need a hair cut my hair grew back in such a way it looks like the short hair cuts people get now days its so amazing I really like it the way it grew back. I mean I really don't think any one could have cut it as good as it grew very tapered and even....uummm so don't worry about your hair growing back and if its white by all means color it the color you like.. don't just live with it. My last chemo was end of May and my hair now is about 1 1/2 to 2 inches. have fun with it and enjoy it I know I am... and every one always comment on my hair and tell me how much they like it and how they like me in short hair...uuummmm and never really thought they would...skeeter1
I can relate to the sheep-like feel of the hair. I tell everyone that without some gel on it, it looks and feels like a cotton ball! LOL I think I'm going to color it next weekend.
Gray hair is better than no hair!
L & H,
L & H,
Kathy
Judy
I still have a fine layer of hair on my head. It is exactly like it was when I shaved it. My hubby said it looks like it is growing some too. I just started loosing my lashes and brows :( I was hoping I would make it all the way with them. I have gotten used to wearing my wig so its not so bad. I start Taxol tomarrow so I guess I can kiss the rest of the hair goodbye!
Dont woory about being negative I prefer to think of it as information.
Hugs:)
I still have a fine layer of hair on my head. It is exactly like it was when I shaved it. My hubby said it looks like it is growing some too. I just started loosing my lashes and brows :( I was hoping I would make it all the way with them. I have gotten used to wearing my wig so its not so bad. I start Taxol tomarrow so I guess I can kiss the rest of the hair goodbye!
Dont woory about being negative I prefer to think of it as information.
Hugs:)
Bernadette
Hey, everyone. Just got back from my first haircut!!! It is really short, but all the cat fur (cotton)
is gone. Now my hair just feels like hair. It is still very gray, but perhaps that will change in the next five weeks when I am scheduled for another appt.
Bernadette, as far as how long before your hair is long enough for a cut -- I had white, 1/2 " long, very very thin wispy hair by mid-July (finished Taxol June 26th.) On August 1st, one day after my birthday, I had a shadow on my head, brows, and lashes. So, Bernadette, exactly 3 months later, November 1st, I had my first hair cut. I will have to say that my hair is full, just like before and the cut is a "style" not just "hair". I love it and the way it makes me feel. Going to the plastic surgeon next week -- just to talk since I have 4 more months minimum before I can get reconstruction.
Harley, I know you have lots going on other than cancer, but Taxol was a breeze for me except for the last 2 weeks. I was very tired and had some diarrhea. My primary problem on Taxol was food - it was awful. I found, unfortunately towards the end, that strong foods tasted best, like chili, spagetti, pizza, mexican food. I always used plastic utensils to minimize the metal taste of food and drank lots of "filtered" and bottled water - no tap water.
Good luck to you Harley, and you Bernadette, and all you others on A/C or Taxol!
Judy
Judy,
Why do you have to wait 4 months for reconstruction? I went to a plastic surgeon a couple of weeks ago and am in the process of getting this rolling. Once I was done with radiation, my rads onc said there was no reason to wait for reconstruction. I'm probably going for the Tram flap. What about you? Have you researched the options? We really are very close in our treatments and experience. Isn't it funny how something as simple as a hair cut takes on a whole new meaning after what we've been through?
I've been really getting into walking and am feeling fantastic. I have so much more energy. Now, if the pounds would just fall off faster!
L & H,
L & H,
Kathy
Back in December, my surgical onc advised me that if I underwent radiation, that I would have to wait 6 months after last treatment for surgery. Medical onc. did also. Rad onc. said that I did not have to wait quite that long. Radiation changes the skin for up to 6-9 months after completion. Sometimes it makes it quite hard. I had a radical mastectomy with muscle removed, etc. My skin lies flat on my ribs, yuch. My rad onc did say that I would have to moisturize and massage my chest forever if I chose not to get reconstruction.
It is all confusing, so I am seeing my ps next week. My son-in-law is a plastic surgeon and he told me that they sometimes do a lat flap with implant on radiation patients. My rad field was from collar bone to end of ribs, sternum to underarm.
Judy