Coping With Liver Cancer and Hair Loss
Many people feel an emotional sense of loss when they lose their hair during chemotherapy. Not only do you lose your head hair, but you will also lose your eyelashes and eyebrows. This can make you look much more different and cause you to feel alarmed. Coping with liver cancer and hair loss depends on your view of yourself with hair and the support you have from family and friends.
What Causes Cancer-Related Hair Loss?
The medications used in chemotherapy are powerful and it is used to kill rapidly growing cells like cancer cells. In our body, we have many healthy cells that grow fast as well.
The chemotherapy drugs do not differentiate between cancer cells and healthy cells, so all of the fast-growing cells in the body will be destroyed. Hair roots are one of these fast-growing cells. Hair growing on any part of your body will stop growing and fall out. Nails are also affected by many patients’ dismay.
Once chemotherapy stops, hair and nails will begin to grow again. It may take 3 months or longer and the hair that comes back in may be a different color or texture.
What To Do About Complete Liver Cancer Hair Loss
In the event that you suffer from complete hair loss, you should explore the options below before it occurs:
- Look into wearing a wig or two. You can search online or go to a store that sells wigs. Match it with the color of your hair and hair texture. You can also be adventurous and try a total new style and color.
- Some patients find that cutting their hair short before chemo makes the adjustment a little smoother. Some even shave it off to avoid watching it falling out in clumps.
- If you let it fall out naturally, wearing a hair net at night helps to keep hair contained. It can be upsetting to see hair all over the pillow in the morning.
- Use hair products for sensitive hair and scalp.
- Use a soft baby brush for thinning hair.
- Avoid harsh heat on thinning hair and pat your hair to dry it.
- Use oil or moisturizer for your scalp if it itches or flakes; avoid dandruff shampoo.
- For eyebrows and eyelash loss, try not to rub those areas. Makeup can be used to enhance the eyebrows and eyes. Eyebrow pencils and eyeliners can be used in the natural color or a shade lighter. Wig shops may have false, stick-on eyebrows, and you can buy false eyelashes in any department store. They take a little time to get used to and a lot of practice to get them on just right.
- Tattooing is another option for eyebrows and lining the eyes. It can be done in many spas and beauty salons. The color is semi-permanent and can go with your natural color. Tattooing is not without pain, however, so this may not be an option if you are already hurting enough.