Hair Growth Progress

I am documenting my hair growth here and will bring this post forward each time I update it.

5/1/12: First haircut in over a year.
 
4/8/12: 11 months of growth since last chemo of 5/17/11.

The curls are softening up a bit. My hair seems thinner than before and the tips are brittle. it is probably time to get it trimmed and get rid of the ends from chemo, especially now that there is a bit of length.
This is Easter Sunday. I am holding Gaige (Sarah's 5.5 mo. son), and Alura is with 8 mo. old Nico. Such a joy.

12/17/11: 7 months of growth since last chemo of 5/17/11.

I thought for sure I would have more hair by now. At least it is almost to the point where I can get it trimmed and cleaned up a bit. I mean, it is barely 2" long. But look at that sweet 7 month old Gaige, my grandson. So much to celebrate now!

Grammie and Gaige at our annual holiday celebration.

11/13/11: Nearly 6 months of growth since last chemo of 5/17/11.

Wow! Has it really been two months since I posted an update about my hair growth? Well, I suppose that may be because it grows so slow that there really isn't much to share about it very often. I will say that I definitely have more curl than before. The hair all over my head ranges a whopping 1.5 to 2 inches long. You can see from these recent two pics with my grandbabies, that it is more fluffy and curly on the top and sides now. I definitely need to look in the mirror before going out or it may look all messy -- which is a good problem to have -- one I haven't experienced in about nine months. My head does still get pretty cold with the cool Fall evenings we've been having, so a good knit cap is still a must. But that is fine by me. Below are some close ups.

Gaige, about 9 days young

Nico, about 2.5 months; preparing for Halloween

back

side

I definitely expected more grey, so am pleasantly surprised with the amount of color. Yippee for the little things.  :-)

9/10/11:

While the hair on my head seems to be in a very slow growth patter, my legs are hairier than ever. I've forgotten about shaving them regularly since I am so out of the habit. Yesterday I looked down at them while wearing a pair of capri pants, and oh man... that hair is growing like a weed. Well the things we "liked" about chemo must quickly slip away, just like the things we did not like about chemo.

On the topic of head hair regrowth, I've studied up a bit and it appears that my hair will return at a much slower rate than normal hair growth. My hair stylist and dear friend, Susan, tells me hair normally grows about 1/2 inch per month. Considering the first month after chemo nothing much happened. And then looking at this picture below on 8/27/11, you can see that this is definitely not the 1-3 inches of hair expected. After talking to some other chemo patients, apparently it is a good 6 to even 18 months before hair comes back in looking good and normal. I have such empathy for the woman in radiation the other day who asked how long my hair had been growing. She was wearing a scarf and seemed to have such hope in waiting for my answer. Her chemo just ended 3 weeks ago so she wasn't quite as excited when I informed her it had been nearly four months since my last chemo. 

Give it time dear one. It all takes time.

But look at this. Pretty impressive in my mind. :-) (Yes, there is another ear there, just hidden)

4 months post chemo.

8/27/11:
Hair growth 3.5 months post last chemo treatment.

8/27/11 3.5 months post-chemo

 

8/17/11 3 months post-chemo

 
7/31/11:
Hair growth 2.5 months post last chemo treatment.

Mark calls this his summer look. I call this my chemo look.

I actually have enough eye lashes and brows to where I feel I have the same color around my eyes as pre-chemo. And look how my head of hair is growing in. I'm surprised there is as much brown in there as there is. Talk about a crazy way to transition from coloring your hair to your natural color. 

7/13/11:

I am nearly 2 months past my last chemo infusion, which was on 5/17/11. And there is enough fuzz on my head for me to barely grab it between two fingers. The hair on the back, near the nape of my neck, is a tad longer than on the top. Most of it appears to be grey, but there is a hint of brown sprinkled in too.

All through chemo I had a few eyebrows left near the center of my brow, and enough eyelashes to barely grab them between two fingers. Now that I have new hair growth, those few straggling hairs have disappeared and made room for the bit of fuzz in both places.

I wish I could say that the annoying facial hair was not coming back; but heck, I'll take what I get at this point.

6/23/11:

It is about five weeks post my last ACT Chemotherapy infusion and I'm starting to feel just the tiniest bit of fuzz on my head. You can't really see anything, but it appears to be coming back in.

Hugs,

Debbie... aka the cancer warrior ... AND SURVIVOR!!!

LIVESTRONG: 

I AM STRONG. I AM LOVED. I AM HEALTHY. WE WILL WIN!