Managing Changes to Your Hair from Drug Therapy

Hair loss

Some drug therapies, like certain types of chemotherapy, can cause hair loss, but many do not. Check with your care team to see if hair loss is a possible side effect of your treatment plan. Hair loss is almost always short term. Your hair can start to grow back in 4 to 6 weeks after your treatment is done. In rare cases, some medicines have caused lifelong hair loss.

After you have talked about the possible side effects with your doctor, to manage short- term hair loss, we suggest:

• Cut or shave your hair when you start chemotherapy if you are on a drug therapy that may cause hair loss. You may feel sad and depressed to see your hair fall out.
• As you lose your hair, you may start to get scalp irritation and your scalp may be painful to touch. This is because of inflamed hair follicles. Usually, the condition is mild. If the pain and irritation get worse, an ointment can be ordered to help relieve it.
• We can give you a written order for a wig. That way, your health insurance may cover the cost. You may be eligible for 1 or 2 wigs, depending on your health insurance coverage. Also, you can get a free wig at the Stanford wig exchange. Call 650-725-9456 for more information.

A product that may reduce hair loss is a cold cap, a coolant-filled hat worn during chemotherapy treatments. The idea is that the cold restricts blood vessels in the scalp. By lowering the blood flow, this can also lower the amount of chemotherapy that reaches hair follicles. This product is for use with specific chemotherapy drugs, not all. It may not be covered by insurance. If you are interested, ask your care team for more information.

Current as of: 1/2020