Cancer Hair Loss: Does It Always Go Together?   

Cancer and hair loss, this is a common combination when you start looking at the causes of hair loss in people.  While not all hair loss is attributed to cancer or its treatments, in many cases it is.  The reason for this is that the medication that is often used to treat cancer causes the hair loss.  While this is true, some people find that their hair is falling out before they have been diagnosed with a serious illness.  While hair loss is not always a sign of illness, if you should take note if suddenly your hair starts to thin. 

Why Cancer Can Contribute to Hair Loss 

The fact of the matter is that cancer is not a direct cause of hair loss, so the term cancer hair loss is not exactly correct. Although the disease may not directly link itself to hair loss, it can create many instances where hair loss is promoted in a person that has cancer due to treatment. 

Treatment such as chemotherapy is very common in someone who has cancer, and this kind of treatment is legendary for its risky side effect of promoting massive hair loss within days or weeks of beginning treatment. During the treatment term with chemotherapy, most people will lose the majority of their hair. 

Cancer hair loss is also associated with the symptoms that cancer can cause in a patient. Severe depression is common in cancer patients, and depression of any kind can surely promote hair loss. Hair loss in cancer patients that experience stress and unsettled feelings may also begin to lose their hair for reasons not directly related to the cancer. 

Cancer Hair Loss:  What to Do? 

Unfortunately, when it comes to cancer and hair loss, there is not much that can be done about the loss of hair due to chemotherapy but friends and family can help deter the other symptoms that patients can experience that can relate to losing their hair. Keeping a positive attitude is something friends and family members can help with, to slow the process, or just make it more bearable for the patient. 

Just helping the patient keep their head up will help in ways you wouldn’t believe!  Keeping control of financial and turmoil situations for a loved one while they are sick is a great way in keeping their stress levels down, in turn relieving a lot of the chance that they’ll experience hair loss due to stress.  Helping to console and keep loved ones busy when they show signs of depression is another great detractor for people who are susceptible to hair loss.  

The Hair is Gone, Now What? 

Once cancer hair loss has begun or is complete there isn’t much that can be done as far as growing the hair back until the treatment is stopped, and then it will usually begin to grow back within three months.  In the mean time, there are different organizations out there that create and provide wigs and other hair accessories just for people who suffer from cancer. These foundations will work with anyone, regardless of their ability to pay for a wig or accessory.   This can be a great way to boost the patients moral! 

 

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