Hair Loss: 3rd Most Common Side Effect of Cancer Treatments

More than 1.5 million men and women were diagnosed with some form of cancer in 2010, the National Cancer Institute estimates.

The treatment options for most of them probably included chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. But the treatments often produce side effects including nausea, fatigue, and hair loss.

For patients, such side effects can take over daily life. They can make patients uncomfortable at best and miserable at worst — sometimes affecting their ability to stick to their treatments, or making treatments less effective than they could be.

MyHealthNewsDaily looked to the experts for tips on how to cope with some of the common side effects.

Nausea
Chemotherapy is the treatment that most commonly causes nausea and vomiting. In most cases, patients will be given anti-nausea drugs.

Beyond this, studies have suggested that patients’ expectations possibly contribute to the development of nausea during treatment.

A 2004 study conducted by the University of Rochester found that women who thought they were “very likely” to experience severe nausea from chemotherapy were five times more likely to do so than women who thought severe nausea was “very unlikely.”

This isn’t to say that patients can ward off intense bouts of vomiting simply by being optimistic, the researchers said. Some may know they’re susceptible to nausea from previous experience with motion sickness or pregnancy-related nausea.

However, the study does suggest that a positive attitude prior to treatment could help reduce nausea during treatment. Further study is needed, the researchers said.

Some people also find it helpful to avoid greasy, fried, salty or spicy food.

Fatigue
Fatigue is a serious problem for at least 70 percent of cancer patients, the National Cancer Institute says. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can bring it on, and so can the anemia that often comes with treatment.

Those with cancer find their fatigue is not relieved by rest, and it can often interfere with daily activities. Nonetheless, patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment can try to take on a lighter workload, maintain a proper nutritious diet, exercise daily and rest if they feel tired. It may help patients to remember that fatigue does not mean the cancer is getting worse or the treatment is not working, the National Cancer Institute says.

Some physicians hypothesized that a class of antidepressants known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) could alleviate fatigue, because previous studies had suggested that serotonin was involved in both fatigue and depression, according to the National Cancer Institute.

However, University of Rochester researchers found that the SSRI paroxetine (sold by its brand name, Paxil) did little to relieve cancer-related fatigue. This suggests depression and fatigue in cancer patients was caused by different factors or biological processes, the researchers said.

Hair Loss
Chemotherapy drugs aim to kill all rapidly dividing cells in the body, which means they can destroy hair roots. Some patients lose not only the hair atop their head, but their eyelashes, eyebrows, armpit hair and pubic hair, according to the Mayo Clinic. This usually occurs about one to three weeks after the initial treatment.

Hair loss from chemotherapy is temporary, and hair will grow back 3 to 10 months after the last treatment, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Radiation therapy can cause hair loss as well, though only in the areas where radiation is administered.
According to the Mayo Clinic, treatments such as cooling the scalp or taking minoxidil (also known as Rogaine) have not proven effective at preventing hair loss.

People cope with hair loss differently. Some simply let their hair fall out. Others opt to cut off their hair before treatment. Some may cover their heads with hats, scarfs and wigs.