Hi my Dad is noticing his hair is starting to fall out. It's been 11 weeks since he 'finished' treatment (35 rads and 3 chemos). It didn't fall out during treatment but he's been noticing it for a few weeks now. He was wondering if anyone else has experienced this?

Thanks in advance.
LisaB

Lisa, there's 2 kinds of hair loss. One is from the chemo and that hair will grow back. The second is from the follicles directly in the radiation field. The follicles actually die and fall out. The hair will not regrow there except fot a few stragglers here and there. I never have to shave my neck and that's 360 degree's. My hair loss wasn't symetrical either. Like 1/2 of my moustache fell out - but it grew back. Neither my wife or I can remember when this all started but I can remember smelling like a toxic waste factory from the Cisplatin for several weeks post Tx.

Thanks; well his hair on his head is falling out and it didn't during treatment.

Thanks
Lisa

I think that in most of the patients I have talked to, the loss of hair is an emotionally disturbing by-product of treatments. Whether chemo induced and returning, or radiation induced and gone forever, it is a drag no matter how you slice it, and hurts self-image. I recommend, and have heard this from many others, to buzz cut the hair down to and 1/8th or 1/4 of an inch right from the get go. Loosing hair in clumps is disturbing, seeing it in the drain, etc. and having a patch work of bald areas and hair in others in some random pattern isn

Well as long as it just comes with treatment and not anything to worry about; that's more what is bothering my Dad.

Thanks
Lisa

I was shaving my head long before I was Dx'd with cancer and a lot of women find it edgey and attractive. In fact I met my wife after I shaved my head and she's pretty easy on the eyes. Hair on men is overblown and those fake and spray can hair BS makes me want to puke. Brian's right - get a buzz cut. My barber told me many years ago that once men shave their heads they rearely go back. We set ourselves up with wierd standards of what is considered attractive. It's really an industry rather than a cultural thing anyway.

Yul Brenner- YUM YUM- Amy

Well during treatment my Dad's nice silver hair was growing in black (his natural colour) now his face hair is black. His hair didn't fall out (not that we noticed anyhow) but 'now' after treatment it is starting to. The doctors say the chemo is out of the body; so maybe it's the rad that is still working? Any comments?

Strangley enough it seemed that only the dark hairs in my beard fell out - to the point that the rad techs commented on it, but they grew back with avengence. Many people think I look better and healthier now then before treatment. I feel pretty good these days. There is definitely life after after treatment and it doesn't have to be a sh*t sandwich!

My seventy year old hubby had a gorgeous full, white beard before his treatments. He's left with a goatee....dark brown, like when I met him 35 years ago!