hair more than
KEEPING YOUR HAIR IN CHEMO
Receiving a diagnosis of cancer is one of
the most difficult experiences anyone can
endure. Not only do patients have to face
their own mortality and difficult treatments,
but they also have to wear the outward
marks of someone who is a cancer patient,
and all that comes with it.
One of the most distressing and visible side effects of
chemotherapy, particularly for women, is losing their hair.
Women report that often it is less about the actual hair and
more about the loss of self, loss of control and even loss of privacy.
Pindara Oncologist, Dr Andrea Tazbirkova has seen this in her own
patients.
“Hair loss is inevitable with almost all breast cancer chemotherapy
regimens; it is a very visible sign of cancer treatment and a constant
reminder of the patient’s condition. It can have a negative impact on
body image, on social life and personal relationships. The fear of hair
loss and its protracted emotional and physical consequences has resulted
in refusal of life-saving treatment in a small number of my patients in
the past,” Dr Tazbirkova said.
But there is now an available treatment that can help.
Pindara Private Hospital’s Day Infusion Centre recently introduced its
patients to scalp cooling – an effective treatment for reducing hair loss
during chemotherapy treatment.
Scalp cooling works by constricting the blood vessels in the scalp,
which in turn reduces the amount of chemotherapy drugs that are
delivered to the hair follicles. The scalp cooling treatment also reduces
the local metabolic rate which minimises the cellular uptake of the
chemotherapy drug at the hair follicle.
While the treatment has only been available in Australia for the past
three years, scalp cooling has been available to patients overseas for
more than 25 years. There had been some debate in Australia as to its
effectiveness, but these concerns have been alleviated more recently by
the constant improvement of the technique and equipment available.
20 | Pindara Magazine ISSUE 13 | 2018