Why Does Hair Change After Chemo?

Combined with surgery and radiation therapy, chemotherapy is used for those undergoing cancer treatment. Aside from the various side effects such as nausea and weakness that come with chemotherapy treatment, patients can also experience changes in their hair in the form of full or partial hair loss. Experiencing hair loss can be an emotionally traumatic event for patients even if the side effect is temporary.

Significance of Chemotherapy

• Chemotherapy utilizes chemicals to kill or slow down the rapidly multiplying cancer cells inside the body. In the case of adjuvant therapy, chemotherapy is used after surgery to kill the remaining cancer cells. Chemotherapy may also be used before surgery in order to shrink cancerous tumors

  Other uses for chemotherapy include its use during the palliative treatment stage of advanced cancer in order to ease cancer-related symptoms such as pain. Chemotherapy can also be used during the treatment of bone marrow disease as a method of preparing the patient for bone marrow stem cell transplant. Patients with diseases of the immune system such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis may also be given low dose chemotherapy drugs as a part of their disease management.

Effects of Chemotherapy on Hair

• According to Breast Cancer.org, chemotherapy treatment rapidly kills all growing cells within the body, including both cancerous and healthy cells. Hair follicle cells are considered to be a fast-growing cell within the body and often are targeted by the chemotherapy treatment.

  A few weeks after beginning chemotherapy, patients may experience partial or entire hair loss in either a sudden or gradual manner. Depending on the type of chemotherapy received, the hair loss can also include other parts of the body such as the eyebrows, eyelashes, legs, arms, underarm and pubic hair.

Considerations

• Factors that affect chemotherapy-induced hair loss include the type of drugs used, dosage, duration and frequency. According to Breastcancer.org, weekly chemotherapy sessions in small doses can cause less hair loss than monthly chemotherapy sessions that utilize higher doses.

Types of Chemotherapy Drugs and Hair Loss

• The chemotherapy drugs known to cause the most hair loss include Adriamycin as well as Taxol. Adriamycin can cause complete hair loss as well as eyelash and eyebrow loss within a month of treatment. Taxol can also cause patients to experience complete hair loss of the head, eyelashes, eyebrows, as well as hair found on arms, legs and the pubic region.

  Chemotherapy drugs such as Methotrexate, Cytoxan and 5-fluorouacil can have less drastic effects on hair loss. While the Methotrexate can cause hair thinning in some patients, complete hair loss is unusual. The effects of chemotherapy drugs suh as Cytoxan and 5-fluorourac can differ according to the individual, as some women experience significant hair loss from the drugs, while others can experience little.

Time Frame

• The Mayo Clinic states that it can take approximately three to 10 months after the end of chemotherapy treatment for hair regrowth to occur. During the first two or three following chemotherapy, patients may notice soft, fuzzy regrowth before seeing normal hair growth after a month. Hair resumes its normal growing pace once the hair follicles have fully recovered from the effects of chemotherapy.
  The rate at which hair regrowth occurs can vary from patient to patient. Some patients may notice that their newly grown hair differs in texture or color from their original hair.