Advice On Hair Loss Associated With Chemotherapy

Hair loss during chemotherapy can be devastating to many people's view of themselves and result in loss of confidence and motivation. Considering the literal life and death aspects of chemotherapy as cancer treatment, the loss of some of your hair logically should be a minor issue. However, as humans we don't always think very logically, and the emotional impact can be immense as it brings home the battle inside to a very real outside manifestation of illness.

Both men and women fear the chemotherapy induced hair loss as one of the worst side effects of treatment for them emotionally. Whether you hair will fall out, and to what extent it does, depends to a great extent on the type of medication and dosage of the medications that your treatment requires. Unfortunately, it is a frequent side effect of such treatments.

In a general sense the reason it occurs is similar to the same reason that chemotherapy can be effective in the treatment of cancer. The drugs attack rapidly growing cells which includes both cancer cells and the type cells involved in hair growth. The loss of hair is most often temporary and hair will grow again once the chemotherapy has been completed. Your hair will begin to grow again about one to two months after the end of chemotherapy, though the initial color and texture may be different than before.

Hair loss during chemotherapy is not always avoidable, but there are a variety of methods which can assist in coping with the situation. Minoxidil (Rogaine being the best known trade name) does not stop hair loss, but there is some indication that it can slow down the hair loss, and regrowing the hair can occur at a quicker rate. Another more radical procedure is the application of ice packs to the scalp during chemotherapy to slow the blood flow and try to cut down on the damage to the area. There is some indication that this works to some degree in many patients, but it can be uncomfortable, and may have an increased risk of cancer in the scalp for the same reason that it reduces the initial hair loss from the chemotherapy.

You can lessen the visual impact of hair loss during chemotherapy treatments on your life by thinking ahead. Before beginning treatments, you should not do anything that could cause damage to your hair, such as coloring, bleaching or any other chemical process. Try to think ahead and decide if you are going to want to wear a wig during your treatments, or if you are simply going to cut your hair short or if you want to go ahead and shave your hair prior to treatment.

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