Hi Ellen

It looks as though the cold cap may be working for you which is fabulous. I started losing my hair at day 14 of my first EC chemo and by a week after my second dose I was completely bald.  I didn't fancy the cold cap at all so made do with my wig and hats, fortunately it was autumn/winter.

I don't know if you're going to be having docetaxel at all, I used the cold gloves and shoes as I couldn't face losing my nails, and while they are weaker I haven't lost any at all.

Good luck with the rest of your treatment and fingers crossed you don't lose your hair.

Lulu

Thanks Lulu,

I'm curious about the cold gloves and shoes - I was told by my chemo nurse that it wasn't available.. Did you ask for it or were you offered it? Randomly I'm not taking Doxetaxel. I'm going to be given abraxane instead. This isn't normally given for early breast cancer but my local authority were worried about the allergic reaction risk to some of the other chemo drugs in the current COVID pandemic so they're prescribing abraxane as an alternative which is apparently more expensive (I just hope it works as well!).

It's looking like I haven't escaped hair loss!

I was twirling some hair around my finger on the nape of my neck this morning and a little came out - think it's the start. I'm now trying not to touch my hair at all. I cut it short into a pixie cut so that I wouldn't need to straighten, blow dry or even brush it whilst doing chemo. I only wash once a week and when I do wash it, it's in the bath rather than shower so that i can rinse it under the water gently rather than having jets of water hit it. When I dry it I just pat dry. I don't know if any of this stuff will actually help or whether it's just whishful thinking. Perhaps the nape of my neck didn't get covered by the cold cap either....

Did anyone else manage to save their hair during EC?

Evening

I had 3 FEC with cold cap and kept my hair. Due to covid they didnt let me continue with the cap when having docetaxel so lost my hair. You usually lose it 3 weeks in but the cold cap did work for me xxx

Great to hear that the cold cap worked for you. Did you do anything else to keep it? Like any specific hair care routine? 
 

sorry to hear about the COVID issue - I feel like it's made the cancer journey 10 times more traumatic than it would be normally.. hope it's coming back now.

Hello lovely. 

Hope you are coping. 

I did keep washing to the minimum and used a gentle shampoo!!  And kept my fingers crossed lol   it is coming back but grey!!! Lol. I have my last radiotherapy tomorrow and hopefully that's it except hormone treatment!  Hate the fact I am going to look like a cancer patient still for months to come. 

Good luck with your treatment. You've got this xxxx

Hi, I used the cold cap but it didn’t work it started falling out in day 18 after first EC chemo. I took control and shaved off what was left. I’ve been told I have a very petite head so it could be that the cold cap wasn’t as snug as it is meant to be. My hair started growing back when I changed to docetaxol. I’m 4 months post last chemo and hair is growing but seems to be taking forever! 

Good luck with the rest of your chemo!

fishnchips

So an update... my hair has been shedding constantly since the days immediately before the 2nd chemo but I'm still able to get away with not wearing a wig.. did anybody get a 'break' in their hair loss e.g. some days without any shedding?

I'm hoping that there might be a few days at least where I wake up and don't find the lovely present of a load of hairs on my pillow... I've had my last EC now and soon I'll be onto different drugs so I hope that will help me even just a little....

Hi Ellen, hope this finds you well and sorry if I've already posted asking the same questions!

I've just had my second round of Acc-EC and am now 18 days since my first round. I've cold capped so am yet to lose much hair but have definitely shed some. Body hair is definitely disappearing! I wondered how successful the cold cap was for you in the end? I have two more rounds of Acc-EC and the switch to Paclitaxel/Carboplatin in Jan and have heard that the EC is the harshest for hair loss.

Looking for some success stories as really hoping to not be bald on Christmas Day!x

Hi Ellen 

quite curious what your result was linked to cold cap & hair loss 

I have had first cycle of EC and opted for cold cap 

thanks 

Jackie

Hi,

Sorry, I've been off here for quite some time! I did lose all my hair in the end. I had a bad experience with the cold cap in chemo number 3. The coldness / ache of the cap triggered my nausea during the infusion and I could not stop throwing up despite all the meds. I asked them to take it off to get through the infusion and of course I lost all the hair after that. I don't know if I would try the cold cap again if I needed to. 
 

however, I'm doing fine now. My natural hair is back and chin length. A bit curlier but still thick!