Hair normally undergoes a growth cycle. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can cause the same kind of problem. At higher doses, radiation can actually destroy the hair follicles, resulting in permanent hair loss in the area receiving the higher dose.
While cancer itself doesn’t typically cause hair loss, a common treatment for the disease does. “Chemotherapy kills rapidly growing cells, so you can get side effects in three areas.
Bone marrow, which typically regenerates quickly, is affected—and this results in low blood cell counts and an increased risk of infection. The lining of your mouth and your gastrointestinal tract are also areas that have a high rate of cell turnover, so patients going through chemo often experience mouth sores and diarrhea. Finally, hair follicles are also affected, particularly those on a patient’s head.
People typically shave their heads for two reasons.
“One is that they know they’re going to lose their hair, so they want to be in control.” The other is that, when hair starts to fall out, it can get on everything and become extremely inconvenient.
“It clogs up the shower, it gets all over your pillow, and it’s a mess. Some women cut it off so it’s a controlled mess and they can get it all at once.”
Understandably, this ends up being an extremely difficult time for many people. Between potentially undergoing surgery to losing their hair to dealing with a decreased libido, it can be tough to process so many massive changes. Plus, a lot of it is physically painful, so that can add to the emotional toll.
Agencies
