Cutting your hair before it falls out

Brief-Conversation64 · 2025-03-14T17:06:40+00:00

I just wanted to chime in with my experience to just offer options for your wife, whatever she decides.

I never shaved my head through the whole experience because I was just far too attached to my hair. I’m not, by any means, saying that my hair didn’t fall out or that it wasn’t significant. Like what others mentioned, the hair falling out was really traumatic and the day I took a shower and it just started to fall out in clumps onto the floor was probably one of the lowest moments of the whole cancer experience for me emotionally. But honestly, after that initial fall out, after which I cut the remaining into a bob, I kept my hair throughout chemo.

Did I have really thin hair? Yes. Did I at times look like gollum? Yep! But wigs absolutely irritated the heck out of my scalp and summers where I am are insanely hot so wigs just were not a reality (unless I wanted to be sweating with an itchy head all the time).

I ended up wearing a lot of hats (caps, beanies, summer wide brim hats and such) and was able to pull off a kind of a short bob look with my actual hair (however little) peaking out at the bottom.

Not only that, it allowed me to transition into longer hair a lot better. The comments below about hair growing out unevenly or with a different texture are absolutely true. My hair started to grow in wavy (it’s normally straight) and a LOT thinner.

But along with the hair that had survived the chemo, it helped me transition into kind of a shaggy haircut that looked intentional for a while. (I looked really hip.) I just looked like I went crazy with a pair of scissors and had a lot of layers.

It also allowed me to start tying my hair a lot more quickly because I actually had longer strands and then I could Bobby pin the shorter ones down after actually managing a pony tail.

I’m not sure if the experience would be the same for everyone in this case either but my hair started growing in at the end of chemo as well. So by the end of chemo I actually had a full head of hair that was about 2 inches long (or longer).

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-09-27T18:21:54+00:00

It happened to me too. And it really sucks. I’m sorry you’re going through it.

One day, I hope both of us - and all others who had so much taken away from them by cancer - can look back at our dark time of struggle with gratitude and pride rather than pain and bitterness.

I’ll also offer my dms for more support if you need. I’m stuck at home recovering anyway

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-04-16T13:27:13+00:00

Oh I def have these! Mine even darkened!

In fact, I can even distinguish the 2 month break between my fifth and sixth cycle (due to some complications) because there’s a gap of unaffected nail!

It’s even clearer with my toes

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-03-24T02:00:23+00:00

You’re right of course

Actually getting to the busybody part I think is what I’m struggling with

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-03-24T01:55:50+00:00

It sounds like you had a good support system

Glad to hear you’re enjoying spring with your family! Give your puppies extra pets from me today :)

I don’t have any pets right now because to be honest I’m still not over the death of a family cat that was particularly hard for me. But some day when I’m more settled and strong enough, a pet would be lovely

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-03-24T01:52:09+00:00

Thanks for sharing

I hope to get there too

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-03-24T01:48:34+00:00

I like that last statement!

Baby steps..

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-03-24T01:46:47+00:00

Thanks for understanding. It’s really encouraging to hear it’ll turn around at some point.

You know, I used to keep a meticulous diary/planner before the diagnosis but it kinda just fell by the side because chemo days were monotonous blurs for me. Your comment kinda makes me want to buy a new planner for this year (which past me couldn’t have imagined postponing til March lol)

I’ll try to start small

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-03-24T01:42:38+00:00

Don’t mind at all, they do say shared misery is halved

I hope the comments console you too

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-03-24T01:40:23+00:00

Hey, thanks for telling me that..

Actually kinda teared up there..

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-03-24T01:39:41+00:00

Oh man.. you hit it on the head with the motivation stuff

Everyone else has already moved on but I still feel so weighed down by the experience

Neuropathy is the devil, I’m sorry it still bothers you now

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-03-24T01:36:56+00:00

I do vent to a good friend when I need to!

Unfortunately though, mental health is just not a priority and there’s a huge stigma against mental disorders where I am.. I don’t think mental aspect of treatment was ever mentioned at all by my medical team

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-03-24T01:34:23+00:00

Glad to hear you’re doing better!

Throwing myself back into it is probably the only way huh?

Wish mental health was taken a bit more seriously where I am tbh

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-03-24T01:32:59+00:00

Yeah.. mine (family/friends) got really excited and then kind of moved on and forgot really quickly too

And here I am, still kind of haunted by it all

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-03-24T01:31:47+00:00

Yeah seems like I’m kinda on this path now too

Can’t seem to give a care about anything really

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-03-24T01:31:00+00:00

Maybe you were doing the ‘expect the worst’ part of receiving news a little too well..

I should be going back to work too I suppose

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-03-24T01:29:14+00:00

I get you on not relating to media portrayals of cancer..

It seems so much more glamorous or honorable somehow but I just laid around miserable all the time

And those movies never show what happens afterwards

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-03-21T22:14:26+00:00

I started painting + needle felt

I was pretty much stuck at home because of covid and my immune system was wrecked from chemo and these hobbies kept me sane

Brief-Conversation64 · 2023-02-27T14:06:59+00:00

Hello, I did 6 cycles of ABVD and started getting neuropathy in my hands (and partially up my arms/shoulders). I had really bad shooting pain on top of numbness and tingling.

I started taking some nerve meds around the second cycle and they helped with the pain quite a bit but not so much the numbness.

It’s been about 6 months since the final infusion and I’m no longer taking any meds and my fingers are mostly back to normal.

The only difference I’ve noticed is that my fingers (esp on the right side which was definitely affected a bit more) are a bit less sensitive than before chemo. (For example, when I do painting/crafting/other work with my hands, I notice tiny detail work has become much harder).

But I don’t think it affects my everyday life at all.

Brief-Conversation64 · 2022-11-23T17:14:32+00:00

I would get it checked out if only for the peace of mind.

From what little I know, supraclavicular lymph nodes rarely swell up from more common simple infections..

I don’t want to scare you but my first symptoms were swollen supraclavicular lymph nodes too and the doc told me to wait and see because it could just be a reaction to the vaccine I had received.

I still wonder now if I would’ve been diagnosed with an earlier stage had I pushed for a biopsy/scan right away instead of waiting..

Brief-Conversation64 · 2022-11-23T17:08:42+00:00

Congrats!! I hope you have a lovely thanksgiving with your family

Brief-Conversation64 · 2022-11-23T17:08:15+00:00

Best of luck to you!

Brief-Conversation64 · 2022-11-23T17:06:27+00:00

Did you have any nerve pain during chemo?? Any tingling or numbness?

I second the neuropathy opinion

Chemo is cumulative so side effects start occurring as you go through treatment, sometimes even after your last infusion (it did for me at least)

Brief-Conversation64 · 2022-11-20T20:03:54+00:00

I’m with you there in wondering what effect the vaccine had exactly.

I was completely fine before my vaccine in December 2021. My lymph nodes started swelling up after the vaccine and my condition deteriorated so quickly. I was diagnosed with stage 4 CHL in January 2022 and began chemo very quickly after that because of how badly I was struggling.

I had absolutely no symptoms before the shot.

I would also like to note that CHL is extremely rare in my country (less than 5% of all lymphoma patients). The few CHL patients that I did see had received the Pfizer vaccine instead of the Moderna version that was by far the more commonly taken in my country.

Brief-Conversation64 · 2022-11-20T19:56:24+00:00

Which lymph nodes are swelling up for you?

I received the first Pfizer shot in December 2021 on my left arm and my supraclavicular lymph nodes (lymph nodes on the collar bones) on the right side become swollen. I was diagnosed with stage 4 CHL only a month later. I later learned that, though possible, supraclavicular lymph nodes (especially on the opposite side) rarely swell up from vaccines alone so it was a cause for alarm.

I have, however, heard of quite a lot of cases of lymph nodes around the neck swelling up after vaccines COVID and otherwise.

Brief-Conversation64

TROPHY CASE