Side Effects of Chemotherapy

By chemotherapy one generally refers to the drug combinations prescribed for the treatment of cancer or tumors. Many side effects of chemotherapy treatments are permanently reported by people undergoing a chemical intervention.

Hair loss or alopecia makes the most visible of the side effects of chemotherapy although we should not jump to the conclusion that any bald person has cancer. How is chemotherapy hair loss explained? Well, chemotherapy consists of a treatment relying on chemicals that are meant either to inhibit or kill the cells that grow or replicate too fast.

Even if only cancer should be eliminated, it has been impossible so far to target only the cancerous cells; in the present conditions all rapidly growing tissues will be destroyed. That is why, besides hair loss, many cancer patients may also have to cope with other side effects of chemotherapy related to their digestive system or skin.

Even if these represent the side effects of chemotherapy that most people are familiar with, we may not know that alopecia is only temporary. Alopecia stops once the treatment is over. Although there may be changes in color and texture, hair will grow back again normally.

There are a few side effects of chemotherapy to say the least, but their intensity could be reduced. In the case of hair loss, prevention is achieved by putting on a cold cap meant to cool the scalp and reduce blood circulation in the area. As a result, the blood will carry less drug to the hair follicles and this means that ones hair will be protected from the damage of the drug.

All in all, side effects of chemotherapy are a challenge and scientists do their best to discover ways to reduce them. Even if one solution to preventing side effects from appearing is available, the same solution may not work for another drug that leads to the same problem. The same goes for hair loss; the cold cap may have the wanted effect of doing away with alopecia only in the case of certain drugs, but it may not work with some other ones.

Filed Under: Chemotherapy