[ettojr]

. It's been 1 1/2 years and I'm thrilled to say I am cancer free. Breast cancer-lumpectomy, nothing in lymph nodes. YAY! I even feel blessed that I had breast cancer because I am a better person for the experience. I fought like a girl and I won.

So now I'll whine a bit...what is with my hair? Oh I have hair, whose it is, I don't know. Friends and family threatened it would come back curly, wiry, red, black...you name it. It is mousy/grey/brown/blond, thin, sparse, fine, pin straight, weak. They don't say so much now. It gets a trim every 4 to 5 weeks and the girls at the salon say it's coming along. Seriously? I think not. Remember Dr Jacoby on "Ben Casey"? I should look so good.

My dermatologist is thinking maybe steroids. Yeah, that's not a scary thought.
Is it too early to be freaking out about this? I look 20 years older. Did anyone have a hard time with their hair growing back? I'm using a shampoo-conditioner-spray product that says it's "age defying". No luck. Any ancient family secret suggestions? Any ideas? Wisdom? Help? Please PM me if you're shy.

[DandyGirl]

Girl, I feel your pain! It took about a year of fuzzy ends before mine got back to anything resembling normal. I also got all the "it'll come back darker....or curly etc.", but what I got was my same old straight, straight hair in my real color (which I had no idea what it was since I had colored my hair for 20 years). Surprise! it's salt and pepper, heavy on the salt. I said I would be happy to have hair again and will leave it be. It's been 4 years and at 61 it does make me look older but I'm still just happy to have hair again and be a survivor.

[graciegirl]

Helene and I send our love. We've both gone through it. Our oncologist said DON'T try to color it for more than a year, it will eventually return to it's former behavior.


AND it did.

[CFrance]

Are you taking Tamoxifen or one of the other b/c preventative medicines one takes for five years? Those put you through a second menopause, drain every last remaining bit of estrogen out of your body, take the hair off your head and put it on your face! Not funny, I know--I went through it.

My hair has never recovered. It was thick, thick, thick. Now, if I don't keep it short and (especially) layered, it separates and my scalp shows in places. It's 8 years next summer. While the texture has returned to normal, the fullness, I fear, never will.

But hey, let's look on the good side. Happy recovery to you, and many more years to come.

[boomerbaby]

Congratulations on your wonderful news. Being someone with baby fine hair what about a shampoo with keratin in it. That will help thicken it up as it continues to grow. Hopefully it will get stronger. There also vitamins for you to take to help strengthen hair but check with your dr. Good luck and I am so happy for your good news health report.

[Parker]

Interesting you should mention this today. I saw a magazine at the Publix checkout called 'First, for women'. It's top article is billed as "Thinning Hair? 7 proven cures". Might be worth a read. I don't care who you are, hair loss for women is just plain scary, and very upsetting.

[redwitch]

Frizzy for about a year and then it came back. Sadly, it came back wavy and dark brown. I really miss my very, very long straight hair. That's the worst thing about your coming back a new texture -- you have no clue what to do with it.

[ettojr]

Thank you everyone for your kind responses and good wishes. My best to all of you, too!
CFrance...I am not on that drug. I puzzled about it, but as I was a triple negative, it didn't come into play. It would not harm me, but it would not help me either. So one less thing.
I will check into vitamins and keratin. I also said I would take any hair that grew! I will check out the magazine at Publix. I will continue reading and researching and maybe while I'm keeping busy with other things it will grow! Graciegirl, not to worry, I don't have enough to dye!

[Uptown Girl]

Consider taking an all natural B Complex vitamin. Check with your Doctor to get the OK.
Mega Food is the brand I use- made from all natural food sources.

I buy it online from the Vitacost website.
B Complex = the building blocks needed for hair, nails and skin.
When you are stressed/compromised (in all the ways you have been) your body gets depleted of B vitamins.
You need to afford your body the whole complex for any of the individual B's to be utilized efficiently.

Make sure you take it immediately after your biggest meal of the day, so there is food to work with it.
Taking vitamins on an empty stomach is like adding STP to your gas tank when you are out of gas- and expecting performance. Doesn't do it alone. (in my opinion)

I will be 'rooting' for you! You go girl, grow that hair!!

[marianne237]

Just know you're not alone. All of my sibs had curly hair and I always wanted it. So when mine was growing back in, I kept wishing for curls. Yep, got them, went away with the first trim....but on the happy side....my hair did come back. Yours will too. Stay away from dyes and weird concoctions. Do look into the vitamins...they're not just for growing hair...they will make you feel better and stronger and that will help your entire body. We "sisters" are all here for you. ()

[V&VofWV]

I noticed that no one mentioned Biotin and a good multivitamin. A nurse recommended Biotin to me and with my doctor's OK, I began taking 500 mg plus he recommended a chewable multivitamin. He said to take a children's multivitamin such as Flintstones (compare ingredients to any adult multivitamin---almost identical). My problem was not cancer, but was a digestive issue and the chewable vitamin digests completely. Back to the Biotin--it took about 3 months before I actually saw new hair growth, but it did work. I used it for about 2 years before I stopped and now I have nice hair--fairly thick, but not as thick as when I was younger. BTW, my sister had some hair loss and tried this method and it did work for her as well.
GOOD LUCK and congratulations on your recovery!

[Uptown Girl]

Biotin is also called B-7. (Part of the B Complex)
Some food sources are green leafy veggies and liver.
Raw egg yolks have it too.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by V&VofWV

I noticed that no one mentioned Biotin and a good multivitamin. A nurse recommended Biotin to me and with my doctor's OK, I began taking 500 mg plus he recommended a chewable multivitamin. He said to take a children's multivitamin such as Flintstones (compare ingredients to any adult multivitamin---almost identical). My problem was not cancer, but was a digestive issue and the chewable vitamin digests completely. Back to the Biotin--it took about 3 months before I actually saw new hair growth, but it did work. I used it for about 2 years before I stopped and now I have nice hair--fairly thick, but not as thick as when I was younger. BTW, my sister had some hair loss and tried this method and it did work for her as well.
GOOD LUCK and congratulations on your recovery!

V&V, are you taking 500 mg or 500 mcg? What brand do you take?