What scares many female cancer patients most about chemo is the chance they may lose their hair. But while this treatment side effect often occurs, it can be minimized, Health.com reports. These three treatments may help:
Hair-loss therapies. Although doctors tend to downplay hair-saving treatments, that doesn’t mean patients can’t try them to minimize hair loss and encourage regrowth, advises Mario Lacouture, MD, director of a cancer center at Northwestern University in Chicago. In general, though, patients should be cautious about anything that sounds too good to be true.
Minoxidil (Rogaine) treatment. Applying Rogaine directly to the scalp won’t totally prevent hair loss, but it can help accelerate regrowth and delay the hair-loss process for cancer patients, according to study findings.
Scalp hypothermia. This treatment involves wearing a frozen gel cap or ice pack on the head during cancer treatment. And depending on the type of chemo that patients receive, the method may help reduce hair loss. When the scalp is chilled during intravenous chemo, the cold decreases blood flow to the hair follicles. This reduces the amount of drugs the hair follicles absorb, thus decreasing damage and potential hair loss.
Click here to learn about other causes of hair loss.
Chemotherapy Doesn’t Have to Mean Hair Loss
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