Wednesday, February 17, 2010

chemotherapy hair loss

Prevention of Chemotherapy Hair Loss
By Steven P Johnson

Cancer - The very word brings in an expression of fear on our faces because we all know that this is the only disease that can cause death within a short period of time - one may not even get the time for proper treatment. Research on cancer has yielded many positive results and chemotherapy treatment is the result of one such research. Chemotherapy is a treatment in which strong chemicals are inserted inside the body to kill the cancerous cells. Cancer cells are the fast growing cells that displace the healthy cells inside the body and create a complete imbalance inside the body leading to the failure of the internal body machinery.

Chemotherapy has proved to be one of the best treatments available for cancer but there are certain side effects that come piggybacking with it. Loss of hair is one such side effect that can cause a lot of anxiety in a patient undergoing chemotherapy. People often ask the question about the relation between chemotherapy and hair loss. Well, hair loss and chemotherapy is bound by a very simple relation - the elimination of fast growing cells of the body. Chemotherapy is specially designed to kill the fast growing cancerous cells of the body and unfortunately it cannot differentiate between the healthy fast growing cells present in hair and the cancerous ones, thus, killing both cell groups with equal ferocity.

Often it happens that cancer is detected at a very later stage which calls for a vigorous treatment. A vigorous treatment means that the doses of chemicals during chemotherapy are also very high causing the healthier cells to be killed at a faster rate. The regeneration rate of the hair follicle cells are faster than other cells of our body thus making it as clear target for the chemicals. The hair loss rate depends on the level o chemotherapy that is being administered. A high intensity treatment is more harmful for the hair cells, whereas if a low intensity treatment is being carried out then there are chances of the body retaining a higher percentage of the hair. Prolonged chemotherapy sessions more or less results in the loss of all the hair. Less serious cases can expect to experience lesser hair loss and majority of the loss would be made up within a short period of time. Chemotherapy hair loss is definitely one of the biggest concerns of the cancer patients.

Coping up with loss of hair during chemotherapy is an easy job nowadays and one can do that even in style! Yes, one does not need to take medicines to re-grow their hair and instead go for the fashionable head gear [out] s. Yes, this would not only hide your baldness but would also provide you a reason to enjoy the cursory glances at the night club! For the patients who are suffering from mild cancer treatment, they can go for the hair loss treatments. The good news is that you do not even have to go for a special treatment and the conventional ones would get you out of the chemotherapy hair loss problem.

This topic has affected many people in my life both family and friends. You can overcome Cancer and win. Please visit my site about chemotherapy and hair loss. There's some great information to get you or a loved one through chemotherapy: Chemotherapy Hair Loss