Coming to Terms With Hair Loss
- When people hear the word "cancer," one of the first things they might think is, "Am I going to lose my hair?" Yes, it's true, but there are many solutions available.
- On Reddit, a cute red-headed girl cut 30 inches (yes, 30 inches!) of her hair off to make wigs for kids with cancer.
- While it may seem like just a small act of kindness, donating your hair to make wigs for cancer patients can be life-changing for them.
For example, take this cute red-headed girl who cut 30 inches (yes, 30 inches!) of her hair off to make wigs for kids with cancer. Her hair was so long it almost reached her knees, but now her hair rests just below her shoulders.
Read MoreHere's an uncropped version of the photo to show just how long this girl's hair was!
Related: Complete Guide to Wigs for Cancer Patients: Cost, Types and Where to Buy
Losing Your Hair; Options Available
While it may seem like just a small act of kindness, donating your hair to make wigs for cancer patients can be life-changing for them. Lots of people identify closely with their hair, so if they're diagnosed with cancer and go through treatment that causes hair loss, that can be devastating.
There are a great deal of resources available for people coping with hair loss, such as scarves, wigs and cooling caps to slow down the process and mitigate hair loss effects. But some cancer patients and survivors have opted to embrace their hair loss, and bravely sport a bald head while out in public.
Vivian Ruszkiewicz, a nurse practitioner with OhioHealth, a not-for-profit system of hospitals and health care providers in Columbus, Ohio, tells SurvivorNet that hair loss is one of the more "distressing" side effects of chemotherapy.
"It's one of the things that people can see from the outside that people may know that you are ill," she says, "and that poses a lot of stress for patients."
Chemotherapy Side Effects Hair Loss
There are a large number of chemotherapy treatments that cause hair loss, but not all of them, she says; others cause hair thinning. Ruszkiewicz stresses that if you're concerned about your hair, talk to your doctor or nurse practitioner about what to expect from your chemo treatment.
She says that some people who only experience partial hair loss still choose to wear a wig, like many people who lose their hair completely, before chemo so that they're prepared, "so they can feel more like themselves during chemotherapy."
Ruszkiewicz says that hair loss begins about three to four weeks after your first chemo treatment; you could start to see some hair regrowth about four to six weeks after your last treatment.
"Then it will kind of continue from there, as long as you aren't being treated with another medication that might cause hair loss," she says. "But in general, most people do have a resumption of hair growth, and can slowly over time put away their wigs and scarves, and are able to kind of go back to what they expected in terms of their hair growth."
In other words, remember that hair loss is temporary!
Related: Making Peace With Hair Loss Stephanie Hess Shares Her Ovarian Cancer Story
Coming to Terms With Hair Loss
Just as it's important to make peace with your cancer diagnosis, it's important to make peace with losing your hair. When coming to peace with this, some patients will sport wigs or scarves, while others embrace their baldness.
San Jose resident Teri Chow was 44 years old when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and she knew she would eventually lose her hair while undergoing chemo. In order to prepare her family, she decided to cut her hair into a short bob. However, as expected, she started losing her hair.
"I think it was shortly after the second round of chemo, so that would've been about four weeks after starting chemo, (my hair) started to fall out," Chow says. "It was coming out in the shower (and) it was coming out just combing (my) hair."
How Ovarian Cancer Survivor Teri Chow's Wig (& Humor) Helped Her Cope With Hair Loss
Some people may choose to shave their head as a way to avoid watching their hair fall out, but instead, Chow decided to start wearing a wig. For her, it was a humorous experience, especially since many people didn't even realize she was wearing one.
"In fact at the school, the other moms at the school didn't realize that I was going through this and they would compliment me on the wig and not knowing it was a wig," Chow laughs.
Contributing: SurvivorNet staff
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
