Sorry to hear it, but that's about right on schedule for Abraxane. I wouldn't expect the hair to begin returning until after you stop.

In my case, a few gray whiskers remain, but the healthier, faster-growing black hairs are all gone.

We reduced the Abraxane dose by 15% during two treatments in January, and then I missed a treatment in February due to Covid. During that period, some of the black hairs slowly started to reappear. The most aggressive hair for me came back in the nostrils, lol... my scalp got jealous. But within a month of resuming treatment at the full dose, everything is gone again.

You might try some steps to help preserve the hair on your scalp, or at least assist/maintain the vitality of follicles. On the scalp, you could try an ice cap during during chemo, and a red laser helmet afterward. After chemo, you could try "LDOM" (low-dose oral minoxidil), which has been getting a lot of attention recently in the general hair-restoration business. Be sure to investigate interaction with your chemo drugs first. You could also apply topical minoxidil (Rogaine) to the scalp and eyebrows, and you could also try Latisse to help the eyelashes and maybe the brows.

The drug in LDOM is a vasodilator -- opens up blood vessels. I have often wondered if vasodilators and blood thinners would help chemo penetrate deeper into pancreatic tumors and make chemo more effective. That would be a good research study some day. But a quick google search last year raised some concerns for me about mixing minoxidil with Gemcitabine, Abraxane, or Cisplatin. I don't remember which one or how serious the interactions were. Those would be important questions to ask an oncology pharmacist about if you want to go that route.

I'm not overly self-conscious about the Mr. Clean look, but it's not what I'm used to after growing my first mustache almost 50 years ago. I've shaved my head a few times since my hippy days, so that doesn't shock me either. It's the missing eyebrows that throw me off a bit when I look in a mirror... makes me want to wear a cap or eyeglasses to distract from that. I would recommend anyone who's about to start Abraxane take some pictures of where your natural eyebrows are, and if you're really concerned, consider an eyebrow microblading treatment or something like that before you start.

The overall chemo regimen also tends to make your skin hypersensitive to sunlight. Nobody wants melanoma or any skin cancer for that matter, but the risk might be elevated while on chemo. (ATM mutation also seems to increase risk of melanoma.)

I'm used to being tan, and staying out of the sun takes some effort. The ultra-white scalp sometimes makes me think I look like a neo-Nazi skinhead. Not often, but sometimes... Funny thing about wearing a beanie cap is that people think I'm hiding my bald head because of the cancer, which is usually not the case. The chemo drugs also tend to cause anemia and a tendency to feel cold, so I'm just wearing the beanie to stay warm most of the time.

Jump to this post