I just want to thank you for your post. I am having EC T chemotherapy and using the cold cap but have lost a lot of my hair (3rd cycle EC).  I haven't coped with it very well and have asked my oncologist about the possibility of it being permanent and what I can do but there seems still to be very little to prevent it if you are having a taxane like docetaxel. There's been some recent research about it such as this article

 Permanent hair loss associated with taxane chemotherapy use in breast cancer: A retrospective survey at two tertiary UK cancer centres - PubMed (nih.gov) 

which advises that oncologists need to address the issue. I thought the percentages for breast cancer patients who are post menopausal and taking AIs (as I am) were worryingly high, but my oncologist does not seem to be aware of it, nor do the cancer nurses.  I don't think they are lying but they think it is very rare.  I feel I have little option to go ahead with the docetaxel but am trying to get some sort of alternative.  I don't know if the cold cap is enough to protect the follicles for re growth if you have lost patches of your hair anyway and there seems little research to tell me. I am so sorry you have lost your hair, these few weeks without mine have made me very depressed and I can see if it were long term that I would struggle to cope. More needs to be done in this area so that people can feel reassured or at least fully informed.

I'm sorry to hear that you're having a hard time.  It's such a shame that there appears to be no progress in this area and that drs and nurses are not aware of the degreee and distress permanent hair loss causes. I was eventually referred to a dermatologist but he said drugs usually given to women with hair loss were not safe to take after having breast cancer, so the only help I got was a prescription for 5 yrs for 2 wigs per year on the NHS.  I eventually found a company that deals with ladies with hair loss and now have a hair replacement system which is better than a wig, but the downside is that it is very expensive.  I even told my breast care nurse about it and she had never heard about it, and even phoned me some time after the fact and asked for the information for another patient.  My breast care nurse also admitted to me that she knew of more cases of ladies reporting long term hair loss to some degree after having taxotere.  Please don't give up hope though. I know ladies who had the same chemo as me who's hair grew back better than ever. Sending you lots of positive thoughts and wishing you the best in your treatment.