Frequently Asked Questions About Hair Loss In Chemotherapy And Radiation Therapy

Chemotherapy and hair growth

One of the side effects of chemotherapy is hair loss, which is a concern for cancer patients. Patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation therapy sometimes experience hair loss on their scalp, eyebrows and even eyelashes, and the question arises as to whether their hair will grow back after treatment. Which we will examine in the following.

Why does chemotherapy cause hair loss?

In addition to attacking cancer cells, chemotherapy also attacks healthy cells in the body that have a high rate of proliferation. The skin structure in the areas where the hair follicles are located is full of small blood vessels that cause these cells to grow and multiply rapidly. In a healthy person, these cells divide every 23 to 72 hours. . Chemotherapy causes the hair follicles to die, and the patient will usually experience hair loss within a few weeks.

Sometimes patients experience gradual and sometimes rapid hair loss over several days, which in both cases causes anxiety and even depression. It is very important that those around you provide adequate psychological support to the patient during this period.

Of course, the type of cancer and drugs used in chemotherapy have a significant impact on the severity of hair loss. Here are some examples of these compounds:



Adriamycin: This compound causes complete hair loss in the early weeks of chemotherapy, even causing some patients to lose eyelashes and eyebrows, a drug commonly used for breast cancer patients.

Methotrextate: Causes thinning hair in some patients, but not all, and rarely causes hair loss.

Cytoxan: It is mostly used for gynecological cancers and usually has little effect on hair loss.

Taxol: This drug usually causes complete loss of hair, eyebrows, eyelashes and other parts of the body, even the genital area.

What can be done to reduce hair loss during chemotherapy?

Some patients cut their hair short or even shave their heads before experiencing hair loss, apparently to reduce the stress of seeing hair fall out.

During chemotherapy, patients should not wash their hair too much and it is better to use very mild shampoos such as baby shampoo.

Rinse your head gently with lukewarm, cold water while bathing.

Use of cooling caps: These caps are placed on the patient from a time before the chemotherapy session, during it and until a few minutes later, in these caps, the flow of cold liquid is controlled by a computer.

Cold fluid reduces the activity of hair follicle cells as well as constriction of blood vessels, resulting in reduced blood flow to the scalp and less chemotherapy drugs are absorbed into the hair follicles.

Some studies show that using these hats is beneficial for most patients and prevents hair loss by up to 50% and even more.



Does Hair Grow Again After Chemotherapy?

If the number of chemotherapy sessions is less than 12 times, hair follicles usually do not disappear and after the end of the treatment, the hair will grow back over time and even the patient can use supplements and hair growth stimulants under the supervision of a specialist. It is also recommended that with the advancement of technology, patients use cooling caps during treatment to reduce damage to hair follicles and increase the chances of regrowth.

In some cases, when the treatment is long and the number of chemotherapy sessions is high, chemotherapy drugs may cause the complete destruction of the follicles, in which case, unfortunately, the hair will no longer grow.

Hair loss in radiation therapy:

Radiation therapy only causes hair loss in the part of the body that is exposed to radiation, for example, if one of the breasts is exposed to radiation, it will not cause hair loss on the head and only affects the hair around the breast.

However, in cases where radiation therapy is used for metastatic cancer in the brain, it causes complete hair loss.

This article is written for general information, always consult your doctor for updated information.