At 29 I have my first round of chemo, I probably had my last one when I was 36 years old. I had three different types of Chemo and I went probably five years in a row without any hair. It got to the point I didn't care to walk around everywere with a bald head (I learn to live with the stares). I never understand why people point me as a brave woman until I realize how much importance they give to appearences here in the U.S. If any body ask me what I lose with cancer and the treatments, I would say " I lose the chance to live my life the way I wanted, and I have to learn to live my life the way cancer dictated"

We need to put more enfasis not in appearances , but in health habits, nutrition and exercice.

I don't know but for me my hair stayed curly after 2 bouts of Hodgkins' Lymphoma :P. I am not complaining my wife loves it. But yeah managing it though is a pain unless I am in the shower brushing it then though once it dries it does what it wants to do again lol. I had my cancer when I was 16 then I relapsed 10 months later when I was 17...

An alternative to chemo!

In 1974 researchers at the medical College of Virginia, funded by the National Institute of health to find evidence that cannabis harms the immune system, found instead that it shrank three kinds of cancer on mice, lung, breast, and a virus induced leukemia. The DEA quickly shut the study down and the results were censored. It wasn't until 2000 that Dr. Manuel Guzman of Complutense University in Madrid Spain rediscovered that cannabinoids destroy tumors with no negative side effects whatsoever! These findings have been proven true many times since.
Read the study for yourself

http://www.brainlife.org/reprint/2003/guzmán_m031000.pdf

Read this about the 1974 study, too!

http://www.alternet.org/story/9257/

That woman's hair looked like she chemically processed it before treatment. The ends are really bright but the roots are dark.

I had cervical cancer and had only 6 rounds of cysplatin and was told repeatedly that I would lose my hair. I never did lose any hair, but I already had very naturally curly hair and it is still that way. Chemo didn't even change the texture. My healthcare providers were very surprised that it didn't fall out.

I also had chemo hair after breast cancer chemo. Unlike the woman in the article, I loved my new hair. It was soft and curly, it looked better than my pre-chemo hair. It stayed curley for about 18 months, and I was very disappointed when it started to go straight again. That was nearly 15 years ago. At the time, I used to joke that it was God's sense of humor - He took away my hair during chemo, then rewarded me with beautiful hair as compensation.

I was 62 when I started chemo and my hair was already turning gray - an ugly course steel gray. After chemo, my hair came back a much softer texture and a much prettier gray. I have people stop me all the time asking who does my hair and how can they get the same color. At least something positive came from the cancer/chemo that I went through.

Randi, I thought the same thing.  It's possible, however, that the sun lightened it and it always seemed blonder to her (that's how my daughter's always was.)  Either way, I'm sure the dark regrowth is a shocker.  I actually like the shorter curlier look better than the stringy straight stuff on her.  And it looks more stylish.  She will probably get used to it and then it will go straight, like some of these others.  My sister also got the chemo curls.  I love it.

Realizing it's pretty jarring to have your hair changed against your will, I will say that I think she looks better in the "after" picture.  Just saying.

 DH was typicall male-pattern-bald before he was diagnosed with cancer that metasticied to his brain.  The pallative radiation they gave him caused the 2 inch fringe of hair he had to fall out.  A month or so after radiation concluded, I noticed a dark shadow on the top of his head.  Thinking that he'd brushed against something oily in the garage, I tried to wipe it off.  Imagine our surprize when we discovered fine hair growing in-where hair had not been seen for more than twenty years!! 

Dang, I got cheated! I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at age 59 (four years ago), had six rounds of chemo (taxotere and carboplatin), and went bald all over. When my hair started to come back it was a little darker than before (it had started to go gray from its previous auburn), but sparser. It was always finely textured, but had a slight wave. Now it's very straight and my scalp shows through on top. I keep looking at Rogaine for Women in the drugstore, but then read the fine print with the side effects and always put it, regretfully, back on the shelf. I just keep it cut short, which looks kind of prison-guardish, but it's the only way to give it any body; if I let it grow it's pretty much just limp. Oh, well, I'm alive.....(:>)

Several years ago my mother went through 6 rounds for her stage 3 Lymphomia. Once she was in remission, her hair came back just like this lady's only her's was silver gray! She tried to have the color changed, but the hair dye just washed right out. It took about a year or so, but it started to straighten out and the color came back. She's back in treatment now, but with Rituxan so there is no hair loss. I'm sure anyone who beats cancer is just glad to have their health. Being able to worry about your hair is a blessing after facing down possible death. My best to anyone in treatment!

My chemo hair came back in curly and wiry just as the woman in the article.  I am in my 30s and have had very thin and straight hair all my life.  I always wished for thick curly hair.  Well, be careful what you wish for, because I got it.  I am almost one year out from finishing my chemo for breast cancer and I am thrilled just to have hair.  But, I did have to go to a salon just to be taught how to manage this new mane, because it's so unruly and I have no clue how to deal with it.  Luckily, I have learned the VERY hard way that superficial things like hairstyles and bad hair days do not matter in the long run. 

If tightly curled hair was fashionable today, this article would have a completely different tone. But women by the millions are flat ironing their hair to get it stick straight for over 10 years now and that is the current beauty standard. It damages the hair and makes it so frizzy you need the flat iron more than ever. For someone with naturally wavy/curly hair - I say stop the madness! Natural hair looks best on everyone - whether it's curly or straight. Why must we all be sheeple?

My niece's hair went curly after she went into remission, and it grew in much lighter too. She was bitty though, we first started noticing the different texture to her hair when she was around 3.

I had stage 3 NHL, went through 7months of Cemo, I had naturally curly hair, now its straight and stringy, so, I keep it short, small price to pay to stay alive. 14 years cancer free!

I am a survivor of Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and lost all my dark straight hair...when it returned, it definitely came back curly. I wake up everyday, happy to be alive and laugh at the curly, thick, fairly unmanageable hair and say "humm...I wonder what its going to do today?" and laugh again! Small price to pay for my life!! I have had this lovely mop since May 2010. It is welcome to do whatever it wants as long as I remain healthy!!

My son, a former Marine serving front line in Iraq had a friend killed beside him & his best friend shot in the jaw 2 weeks later. Due to the severe stress I was going through, I lost almost all of my hair. Prior, it was straight as a board. When it grew back, it has tremendous waves. They do straighten with some work, but it changed forever, I am afraid. Something Noone really things about stress causing. Maybe that is one part of the equation to losing hair with cancer & chemotherapy not really studied before.

I wish I still had my chemo hair. It was very soft and curly. The advantage was that when I lost my hair I also lost my roots. It has been 4 years and I refuse to color my hair as I figure what I have now is what God wants me to have.

Technically, it starts to fall out 17 days after the first treatment. Mine was right on the money, 17 days. Exactly. When it first started to grow back in it was bright white (I was 48). It has since mellowed back to my original color, but since I have not processed it in any way, it is still nice and soft (with a little gray thrown in).

I have also heard that some experiments were done and if the patient fasted the day before a chemo treatment all of the side effects (including hair loss) were much less.

To all that are going through it... They do not tell you but it grows in much faster on the sides than it does on the top of your head. Do not fear, it will all come back.

After my first round of chemo treatments in 2005, my hair initially came in curly. It eventually went back to my original texture. Cancer came back in 2010, more chemo, this time hair came back straight. I wish the chemo could get rid of the cancer, not just the hair. I have stage 4 metastatic cancer and hair loss is the least of it!

I actually think Sarah's hair looks better now than before her chemo. Makes her look prettier.

I had breast cancer 4 years ago myself (Stage 3C/4). I lost all my hair (everywhere). I had curly hair before the chemo and it came back darker (with highlights), curlier, thicker and with soft hair (like a baby's when it first grew out). I love it. It takes longer to straighten (so much more hair), but I am so thankful to have my hair back. The main thing here is that I am alive and I treasure each day!

Her roots in the "before" picture are dark, even darker than in the "after" picture. Her hair now looks a lot more beautiful and healthy with the curls. It shines a lot more. She should be happy; my mother only grew back patches of hair on her head after chemo, making her rely on a wig or a turban-style wrap for the rest of her life.

my little sister had what she called "dishwater" blond hair all her life, that is, was up until she lost it during the chemo. i told her it was good too as she always wore her hair like a member of FFA or one of the rancher's kids, all in a poking fun at it manner never at her. after deb ended treatment her hair came back just as this article describes, tiny tight dark curls that looked almost like a swimmers cap kind of betty boop style. as someone on the outside looking in i can say her hair be it gone or changed, that didn't matter one bit to myself or anyone else for that matter. all we cared about was the girl behind the smile no matter how frail and weak she became, her smile was like a beacon in the darkness, it was our strength, she was our strength even though we tried to tell ourselves otherwise. at first she cared about her hair, for all of a day or two, but after a week without she honestly didn't think or express a care one about it except when stepping outside into the cold and snow when she had forgotten her cap. i foolishly thought the hair made a difference so i tried everything i could in my power to try to take that loss away from her but as it didn't matter to her what was i to do? bangs, wigs, hats, out of all of them and she ended up wearing just one, mine, a hat that i had worn for years whenever i went skiing. all the others sat in a drawer never to be worn. whenever i saw her she had my old ratty skii hat on. i wonder, what would happen if during a cancer family risis we were all blind? what if she/they could not see how the disease had ravaged their body'd, would her state of mind, her spirit have been stronger? what if we could not have seen the cancer's effects also? what if we could have only heard the sound of her voice, felt the touch of her hand in ours? what if...............my little sister had not been the one i, we, all of us had to say goodbye to a few weeks ago, i begged it would be me but it wasn't to be. so many what ifs but you know what, forget all the what ifs, you cannot change the past so cherish the memories and when the time comes move forward and be grateful for the time i, we, all of us have been blessed with. hair, looks in general, all those things superficial, those things you think you knew were so very very important that was until you got a quick and intensive cancer education and the world turned upside down or did we? and what you thought was important isn't and what you never even thought of was and it is too late now. its too late now because,...she is gone. hair, makeup, makeovers, clothes, they may appear to make some people happy but what really makes them happy, brings them joy in the darkest times, is that someone took a time out for them, just for them to make their lives a little bit better and that in the end is what lifts/ed their spirits. never forget time is the most valuable gift you can give any loved one with cancer or with any serious disease for that matter. i'd give anything right about now to cradle her in my arms and say it is all okay, i know with certainty she is okay but as for me i'm a work in progress, but the good days outnumber the bad so things are improving. never give up, always have hope, and love each other with every ounce of strength you have. make movies for the future, make video cards for upcoming birthdays, holidays and the like. celebrate that first birthday without and make it a celebration of their life, of our lives with them and don't all those wigs stashed throughout the house to a good cause as every little bit helps. sorry for any ranting, confusion, bad grammar, it is an emotional post and i don't have it in me to proof it. be well all be good to each other.

I had stage 4 Lung cancer was treated with radiation and chemo. Did not lose my hair. 3 years later it returned in my lympnode and was treated again with both chemo and radiation. I was on carboplatin and was told I might lose my hair, but never did. However, it did start to gray but wasn't sure if it was due to age or drugs. Either way, I am grateful to be alive!!!!!!!! 

To All You Curlie Cancer Cuties out there: Your responses made me laugh and cry all at once. Also in remission from (breast) cancer...triple negative. Six months of chemo treatment, including the RED DEVIL--AC chemo. Lost it ALL: I mean even where the sun don't shine. I had medium ash-brown hair which I highlighted blonde. I always had to blow dry it straight in humidity or I had atomic bomb mushroom head. It is growing back and it is C-U-R-L-Y, and almost black. Even though I am in my 50s, my hair has virtually NO grey in it. I expected it to grown in grey, but it grew in almost black. The ends (first growth) feel different than the more recent growth--stiff and wiry, and very, very curly. It looks very wild and free, but the first few months after treatment finished I looked like Fatty Arbuckle (Google him); fat moonface from the 'roids and this dark, masculine-looking tangle of growth. But after a MAS with LN removal, this was the least of my problems...I know many of you relate! I save A LOT of money on hair, since there's nothing to taking care of this mop. You know how all those "self-help" books talk about "re-inventing" yourself? I reinvented myself for free, lol, with this creepy, creepy disease.