Hmmm. So it's about 36 years old, right?
When I lost mine (this year), it was 50 years old. It sprouted soon after I got an honorable discharge from the USMC in 1968.
So what happened?
Lymphoma materialized in my neck in late March this year. By the time that chemo and radiation had chased the cancer away (according to the oncologists), that lengthy white beard (yes, I used to do Santa!) was gone, along with most of the rest of the hair on my body.
The hair atop my head is back. My moustache and goatee are back, much thicker than they were nine months ago.
But, the place under my left jaw where the radiation entered . . . it's just now beginning to sprout the faintest, wispiest peach fuzz. And, on the opposite side of my face, there are still some blank spots, likely resulting from deflection of radiation in that direction from several dental implants.
The oncologists tell me the beard will return, but more slowly than the hair lost from chemo alone - which returns much faster, and (sometimes) more vigorously than it was when it departed.
I am very glad your cancer is gone.
I, too, was diagnosed with a lymphoma this year. Mine, also, appears to be gone.
May you enjoy continued good health...