Does Hair Grow Back After Chemotherapy?

Patients undergoing chemotherapeutic treatment tend also to lose their hair. Although some may have thin hair, most go bald. Chemotherapy is basically treating a disease using chemical medication. It is very common in the treatment of cancers although it can be employed for other diseases involving the cells. The therapy is targeted at killing malignant cells or drastically reducing their rate of division and growth. Hair loss is one of the side effects. All the hairs of the body can be lost as a reaction to the treatment.

Malignant cells have a tendency of dividing very rapidly. The drugs used for treatment stop the process of mitosis, which is cell division. The problem cells are the main target, but other cells are also affected. Even the normal cells, like hair cells, undergoing cell division are affected. When mitosis ceases, there is no production of new cells. The scalp sheds hair everyday, but it is normally replaced by new hair. In this case, there is the continued shedding of hair which is not replaced as there are no new hair cells being produced. With time. all the hair is shed and one becomes bald.

Hair does grow back after chemotherapy! Once the administration of the drugs stops, there is nothing inhibiting mitosis. The process of cell division starts again. It has been noted that the cells seem to produce at a faster rate than before. The hair growth cycle continues and hair cells begin to be produced once more. Hair grows at a rate of about an inch a month. Within two years you may be having a head full of beautifully growing hair.

Losing your hair, when undergoing chemotherapeutic treatment, is nothing to be ashamed of. Many people wear their bald heads proudly. It is a known fact that treatment is coupled with loss of hair. There is no need to start thinking you look ugly without hair; baldness may even bring out some features of your face which were hidden by your hair. If you can't handle hair loss, then you can cut your hair before it starts thinning and falling out. You can even start wearing wigs. There are so many wigs that are available on the market that should meet your approval. There are different types, colors and textures. You can look for one that is exactly like the color, texture and even size. The best quality would be the 100% human hair. You can continue to style your wig the way you want and no one will be able to tell the difference. When your hair grows back, you can discard the wig. If you do this, who will know you were losing your hair?

For all of you who have to take chemotherapeutic drugs, you do not have to worry about losing your hair. You just have to be patient during and after treatment. It is more important to concentrate on getting better rather than on having your hair back. It's good to know there is hair after chemotherapy.