Chemotherapy Hair Loss Prevention – is it Really Necessary

When chemotherapy takes place, it is inevitable that hair loss will follow. This is caused by the radiation of the chemotherapy treatment. The radiation is meant to kill cancer cells within the body, hence prolonging the life of the patient. Unfortunately, the same radiation also weakens and kills off hair follicles.

Following a loss of hair follicles, hair eventually break or fall off, leaving ugly patches on the scalp. If the treatment is long enough, all the hair will eventually fall off. This is a side effect of chemotherapy.

In such dire circumstances, most will think that it’s okay to lose some hair just to have a chance of living. But for some, it can be a painful process that cause much mental and emotional stress.

To examine the question of whether chemotherapy hair loss prevention is necessary or not, one has to make an effort to understand the various aspects of the situation.

1) Hair, by itself, has no influence on the physical health of a person.

Firstly, a cancer patient must understand that hair, by itself does nothing to prolong the life of the patient. Therefore, it makes sense to sacrifice hair in exchange for life. Sounds like a fair trade. But there is another reason why it does indeed sound like a good idea to sacrifice hair for chemotherapy treatment.

2) The root cause of the suffering is mental, not physical.

Hair enhances the appearance of a person. It affects the self esteem of the patient. For example, a female patient undergoing chemotherapy will not feel comfortable facing the general public with a completely bald head.

When you understand the two elements above, you will begin to see the whole issue in a different light. How would you seek treatment if you are in a similar situation?

Well, that depends on a case by case basis. For instance, it depends on whether the chemo treatment is going to be long term or short term. The good news is, for short term treatments, the hair quickly grows back once the treatment stops. For such cases, seeking hair loss prevention treatment would certainly be a good idea. Hair loss treatments will help slow down the rate of hair loss. It will not stop the hair loss completely, but it can dampen the process. Once the treatment is over, the hair will grow back at a much quicker rate.

But in the case of long term chemotherapy treatments, seeking hair loss treatments may just add to the stress of the patient. In this case, it may not be a good idea to fight the hair loss. It is better to seek alternative measures that are temporary in nature. For example, wear a head scarf or a hat while going out. Or better still, wear a hair piece.