BB Blog — chemotherapy

So happy to see my friend Lisa getting the recognition she deserves for her amazing inspirational attitude to her challenges. A women of such dignity, caring, style and strength, I'm so proud to know her.  

"I dress for chemo like I'm on a night out" says Mother-of-four, 39, who found out she had incurable cancer two weeks before birth of her 'miracle' fourth child, says feeling glamorous helps her cope with gruelling treatment.

"A mother-of-four who was told her breast cancer had returned and become incurable just two weeks before the birth of her fourth child has revealed how she always 'glams up' for chemotherapy sessions. 

Nurses treating personal trainer Lisa Fry, 39, from Cheltenham have dubbed her the 'most glamorous patient' because she always arrives on the ward in heels and wearing her glad rags. 

Lisa already has three sons, Charlie, 14, Marley, 12, and Woody with husband Wayne, and Jagger, her fourth, was born on March 25, 2018. 

At 31, Lisa was breastfeeding her third son, Woody, ten, in 2011 when she found a lump in her left breast and was later diagnosed with stage three aggressive breast cancer."

The Lisa Bold Beanie cancer hair loss hat is named after my animal print loving friend: 

https://www.boldbeanies.com/products/the-lisa-bold-beanies-hat

Read the entire article in the Daily Mail here:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-6768549/Mother-incurable-cancer-reveals-dresses-chemo.html?fbclid=IwAR06BAkRSz-ODGXQW3JXuFQXrjPgo0VyAkNcjhmMX9OMLdH2l4mbfEzQXhc

Whilst everyone is different, there are some common basics to hair loss with chemotherapy treatments for cancer, especially the drugs for Breast Cancer. 

The healthy cells in the hair follicles that support hair growth can be affected by chemotherapy treatment.  As a result, people with cancer who are given chemotherapy may lose the hair on their heads, eyelashes, eyebrows, and elsewhere on the body.

When hair loss occurs, it usually starts within 2 weeks of treatment and continues to get worse for 1-2 months. In my case I had my first round of chemo and it was just starting to fall out as I had my second infusion 3 weeks later. I had already shaved my head in preparation. Despite my terrible memory, its always going to be a pretty distinctive as it was my youngest daughters 1st birthday. 

Does it hurt when your hair falls out? Well my personal answer to that is yes. Its the kind of hair pain you get when your hair was tied back to tightly as a child. 

Similarly, a person's hair does not start to grow back immediately after their last chemotherapy treatment. The delay is due to chemotherapy drugs taking time to leave the body and to stop attacking healthy dividing cells.

Most people receiving chemotherapy will begin seeing a limited amount of thin, fuzzy hair a few weeks after their last treatment. Real hair starts to grow properly within a month or two of the last treatment. This was certainly true for me.

A small fraction of people who are given chemotherapy may never regrow their hair. Specific drugs increase the risk of permanent hair loss. The Breast Cancer drug Docetaxel, which is sold under the brand name Taxotere, has been known to cause permanent hair loss in some people. I had this drug, but my hair has grown back.

Knowing a little bit about hair growth can help a person understand hair regrowth after chemotherapy.  All hair goes through periods of rest, during which it does not grow. Furthermore, when the hair hits a certain length or when it is pulled, it falls out. So the scalp is always shedding some hair.

This basic timeline indicates what happens after chemotherapy:

Bold Beanies now offer a wide range of silky soft cotton hats, headscarves and head wraps suitable for sensitive scalps from cancer chemotherapy treatments, for women with hair or hair thinning to more permanent Alopecia Areata. 

Our headwear range is made using the finest natural fabric and to the highest quality. The thin stretchy cotton material is practical, antibacterial, breathable, easy to put and keeps the head at an even temperature. 

Our beanies, head wraps, head scarves, picc line covers are beautiful using the best Liberty Art Fabrics for style as well as comfort and a complete range of plain colours to co-ordinate with any outfit and make you feel more comfortable. 

Have a wide range of headwear options for your course of treatment including beanies for day and night wear, head wraps and head scarves as well as a wig to see you through. Bold Beanies are perfect as a comfy breathable, sweat wicking layer under other woolly hat, hijabs, turbans and all types of helmets and hard hats.

Made in the UK by a Breast Cancer Survivor. Free UK and worldwide shipping available. 

Dry Mouth from Chemo? This is a common side effect of many chemotherapy drugs and something I really suffered with, so I was interested to read this article from a dental hygienist Christina, who underwent chemo herself. 

"While Christina has shared her blog about wigs, chemo ports, and cancer keepsake boxes, perhaps her area of highest expertise is in chemo and dry mouth. Not only did Christina go through dry mouth as a side effect of chemo (as well as other oral complications), but she is a dental hygienist and an expert in how to keep your mouth healthy and clean!"

I lost my saliva when I had chemotherapy for breast cancer (stage 3 advanced) and it was a very unpleasant side effect of the treatment. I would describe it to anyone as like eating dry All Bran (a dry breakfast cereal in small stick-like form) anytime I tried to eat something. I was given a sweet lemon tasting artificial saliva but it was really horrible. I ended up just taking sips of water all day to refresh my mouth. I had my chemotherapy 11 years ago and to this day I still suffer with a dry mouth and constantly need a drink with me otherwise I feel very uncomfortable. My gums also receded quite significantly during my treatment, so I'm always paranoid with every dentist visit as to what they say, but so far all okay... although I'm told I brush my teeth too hard... which I really don't (I'm very careful about that), so I'm guessing that's a continued side effect.  

"In addition to a host of other unpleasant side effects, chemo can cause dry mouth, mouth sores, difficulty swallowing, and even tooth decay. Dry mouth is especially troublesome because, not only is it uncomfortable, but it creates an acidic environment that promotes tooth decay and makes it hard to chew food.

Are you looking for a specific chemo hat, scarf or headwear?  Can't see the cancer headwear you're looking for?

Emilienne's main objective from her Bold Beanies business is to help people suffering hair loss (her own experience was medical alopecia from chemotherapy treatments aged 31)... to make a things just a bit more bearable... so if you would like to have something bespoke or having something unique in mind (size, print, customisation or colour for example), please drop her an email  - info@boldbeanies.co.uk - and she will always try her best to help. 

Bold Beanies thin stretchy cotton hats, head-wraps and scarves are available for Men, women and kids and come in a wide variety of plain colours and sizes. But sometimes you are searching for something truly unique and maybe we can help. 

Emilienne lost her hair whilst receiving chemotherapy treatment for grade 3 advanced Breast Cancer and couldn't find any simple, comfortable and un-fussy chemo headwear to make her feel confident to get on with her day and breathable and snug so she could get a good nights sleep.