How to Grow Hair for Cancer

If you have received a diagnosis of cancer and are about to undergo chemotherapy, the chances of you losing your hair are likely a reality. Depending on the type of chemotherapy you receive, you may lose all of your hair or experience thinning of your hair. This is because chemotherapy drugs attack all rapidly dividing cells in your body -- including your hair roots. Unfortunately, there is no way of preventing hair loss associated with chemotherapy. There are actions you can take to hide your hair loss and promote hair growth following the end of your cancer treatment.

Things You'll Need

• Wigs
• Hats
• Scarves
• Rogaine

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Instructions

• 1

  Talk to your oncologist. Find out the types of chemotherapy drugs you will be taking and inquire about their side effects. Some chemotherapy drugs may cause hair thinning, others may cause loss of the hair on your head and other drugs may cause hair loss on your entire body. Talking to your doctor can help prepare you for the changes in your appearance that will take place.

• 2

  Make yourself comfortable. Mayoclinic.com indicates the best way to deal with hair loss is to make yourself comfortable with your appearance. Prepare yourself ahead of time for hair loss. If you are not comfortable going bald, purchase hats, wigs and scarves to cover your head. You can purchase a wig to resemble your normal hair in cut, color and thickness.

• 3

  Try cryotherapy -- or scalp hypothermia. While you are receiving chemotherapy, ice packs are placed on your head. This slows the flow of blood to your scalp. As a result, chemotherapy medications are less likely to attack your scalp. Mayoclinic.com indicates most individuals who have tried cryotherapy experience some success. However, there is a risk of cancer occurring in your scalp. This is because your scalp will not receive the same doses of chemotherapy as the remainder of your body.

• 4

  Try Rogaine. Rogaine will not help you during your chemotherapy treatments. However, using Rogaine post-cancer treatment can help to speed up hair growth. Mayoclinic.com says more research needs to be completed on the use of Rogaine in hair regrowth following cancer treatments.