When will my hair fall out?

[Mukenhimer]

I'm 9 days past my first round of chemotherapy for breast cancer and I'm receiving 4 rounds of Cytoxan and Adriamycin and then 4 rounds of Taxol (I believe).  I've heard it's pretty fast but haven't noticed anything yet.  Everything I read says Adriamycin is the one that makes hair loss pretty sure thing.  I already have the wig (non-returnable) and I'm sick of running my fingers through my hair.  I even dreamt about it last night!!!  I feel like I'm pregnant and just waiting for my water to break!

P.S. It's not that I'm looking forward to it, but it just feels like it's the big "cancer sign" and I really don't want to have to clean up a mess!  :)  

[Brndnsdad]

If I remember correctly it took my wife about three weeks before her hair started falling out. But people react differently. She had her hair cut short beforehand so she could be more comfortable wearing the wig as the hair was falling out.

Some advice on the wig...don't let it get too close to a heat source, like the oven, or you'll be buying a new one. My wife went through three wigs before she learned. She eventually quit wearing it in the house once she realized I didn't care. She was pretty cute bald!

[Mukenhimer]

Saying your wife is "pretty cute bald" gives me hope!  My fiancee is being wonderful about this and it sounds like you are/were too.  I've already gotten the advice about staying away from heat sources (I can't help but think that's funny, just the thought if it going up in flames or melting.  I envision Mrs. Doubtfire when her breasts catch on fire!)

To be honest, I got the wig as an "in case."  I hope to sport my chrome dome proudly but I have it for situations where others may be put off by it.  Thanks for the reply!

[Brndnsdad]

Mt wife had both ovarian and uterine cancers at the same time. Her chemo sessions were about 4-5 hours long every 3 weeks for 6 sessions. We made "Chemo Day" something special. I took the day off of work and we would leave the house early to go get some breakfast. During the treatment we would have nice talks with each other and made some friends with some of the other folks receiving treatments. The nurses were really great. We'd stop for lunch afterwards and then she'd sleep after we got home. After she was done with the chemo she had to have radiation treatments. Those were harder on her because of the location of the treatment. When everything was done we got her sisters and their families and we all went on a cruise to celebrate. By the cruise date her hair had grown back enough she went without a wig. She'll be 4-years cancer free the week after next. And one last thing you might like to know...she has two sister-in-laws who are both approaching 10 years breast cancer free. Treatment has come a long way over the past couple of decades.

[Mukenhimer]

I hope my fiancee and I have the type of relationship it sounds like you and your wife have.  It's so weird but I've said it more than once that this evil situation has made me realize how lucky I am on SO many levels!  I know once I'm cancer free for x-amount of time, a major celebration will be in order but this whole process just makes me feel like a leaf in a stream....no control, just going with the flow!  Best wishes to you, your wife, and her sister-in-laws and give them my congrats on their success!  This "cancer club" is something else!  I've decided that everything happens for a reason and maybe this is so we can help others feel better or less scared.  Thanks so much for giving me optimism and hope (which, by the way, is better than gold to a cancer survivor... but I'm sure you knew that!)

[lhughes]

My hair fell out around day 20.  It started coming out a little just after 2 weeks, then "bam" it came out in clumps.  I cut my hair really short just before.  

BTW, it won't all fall out, you'll have some tough follicles that will hold the hair.  I had to shave my head eventually.  It gets pretty thin and quite freakish looking.  I, too, had a cute head without hair.  THANKFULLY!

I didn't wear a wig.  I had a few hats that I wore when it was cold.  Otherwise, I just went natural.  Besides having a bald head means you never have a bad hair day!

Good luck on your treatments.  A/C isn't too bad.  Taxol has some extra weird effects, like tingling in your extremeties.  Drink lots of water and eat well, try to walk some everyday to keep your energy up.