Chemotherapy And Hair Loss – LR
31 12 2009One of the most frequent side effect of cancer treatments is chemotherapy hair loss. Why does one lose hair during chemotherapy? Well, the drugs used in this type of cancer treatment are very strong, therefore very efficient in attacking the rapidly developing cancer cells. These medicines also attack other cells in the body that have a rapid growth; the cells in the digestive tract and the hair follicles are the main examples here.
The effects of chemotherapy on hair are not limited only to the scalp as the procedure affects the hair on the body, too. Thus, patients will experience the loss of eyebrows, eyelashes, pubic and armpit hair.
The variety of the drugs used in chemotherapy is incredibly high with hundreds of medicines available. Some of these will trigger chemotherapy hair loss more quickly than others, but some may not even cause such a side effect. The concentration of the drugs is another aspect to consider when hair loss is under discussion, as hair loss ranges from thinning to complete baldness. Thus, discussing the medication that will be prescribed with the doctor and nurse is very important as they are the specialists able to inform the patient on what to expect from chemotherapy.
Hair usually starts falling out after 10-14 days from the beginning of the treatment. It may happen quite fast, gradually or in clumps. Chemotherapy hair loss remains a problem throughout the entire period of the treatment and a month afterwards. Half of the hair can fall out before this is noticed by people around. Fortunately, in the majority of cases, chemotherapy hair loss represents a temporary effect. Hair will probably grow back within six months to one year from the end of the procedure. Although the regrowth of the hair occurs in most of the cases, the new hair could be of a different texture and shade temporarily.
It usually takes about four to six weeks for the hair to recover from chemotherapy, and the growth rate will be somewhere around a quarter inch per month. When the hair starts growing back again, it might be a little different from the hair that was lost because of therapy. The changes will be a first recovery sign and the hair will recover the look previous to the treatment the moment cellular pigmentation is functioning normally all over again. Unfortunately, one cannot prevent chemotherapy hair loss as there is no treatment which will guarantee that the hair will not fall out.
Lee writes about several subjects, including health and travel. Her latest is about locating Airline Tickets to Orlando.
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