Hair loss during chemotherapy treatments is almost an inevitable. If treatments go on long enough, the likelihood of you losing your hair is greater than the likelihood of you not losing your hair, and unfortunately that is something that just happens to be accepted.

In some instances, chemotherapy hair loss prevention is an option. For shorter treatments, there are ways to try and stimulate the growth of the hair follicles, but in most cases chemotherapy hair loss prevention is better translated into other options.

As hard as it may be on the self esteem, think of the loss of your hair due to chemotherapy treatments as a new opportunity. Many times, it is better to consider alternatives to chemotherapy hair loss prevention. Hair pieces are a great thing for chemotherapy patients, as they are a great experiment. Use that time to consider the possibilities; many times after hair grows back from chemotherapy treatments, it grows in a different color or a different texture than it was before it fell out.

That is exciting for some people, and it tends to make up part of the horrible experience of losing the hair in the first place. At that time, chemotherapy hair loss prevention is not an option anymore, and it is no longer necessary. Scarves are also a popular option in lieu of chemotherapy hair loss prevention. They come in different colors and styles, and can be made to add a flair to any outfit; this can help to boost self esteem so losing the hair turns out not to be so bad after all.

For more hair loss prevention tips, please visit: Hair Loss Solutions a website that specializes in hair loss and chemotherapy
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One of the present issues being addresses in clinical trials is whether anticancer drugs should be used together (cancer combination chemotherapy) or if they should be used as a single agent (sequential chemotherapy). If drugs are combined and share common toxicity such as bone marrow suppression, often the dosage must be reduced, perhaps also reducing its efficacy. Some drugs in combination may be synergistic, wherein the combination of two or more drugs enhances the anticancer effect as compared to when drugs are given alone in sequence.

Based on successful clinical trial results in the treatment of Hodgkin’s disease, breast cancer chemotherapy was traditionally given in combination. Early results did demonstrate a combination of drugs were better than a single agent. As new evidence emerges regarding the presence of potentiation of these drugs and toxicities from interactions, cancer chemotherapy regimens may contain combined drugs, as well as drugs given singularly.

The other major issue for cancer specialists treating breast cancer with chemotherapy is drug dose regimen. The higher the dosage given in a fixed time period, the greater the potential toxicity and risk of adverse effects on the patient. Oftentimes, this is bone marrow toxicity, which involves a suppression of bone marrow stem cells leading to decreased white blood cell production (leucopenia), placing the patient at heightened risk for infection. Research shows that a certain dose intensity must be given to achieve the maximum antineoplastic activity, but going beyond this threshold only increases risk without further benefit.

A majority of anticancer drugs affect all dividing cells in the body. This includes both normal cancer cells. If a woman has microscopic spread of the cancer cells, these cancer cells will be replicating and be more sensitive to chemotherapy than most normal cells. Some of the body’s normal cells that also replicate on a regular basis are the bone marrow cells and the lining cells of the gastrointestinal tract. It is for this reason that these normal cells are also sensitive to the anticancer drugs. Presently, there are several drugs that kill breast cancer cells and there are new agents under investigation. Much progress has been made in how to optimally administer these agents and there are supportive therapies to prevent the adverse events of chemotherapy. Several drug combinations have evolved and have been commonly used to treat women for possible metastatic disease. The standard has been one of two combinations: adriamycin and cyclophosphamide with or without 5 fluorouracil; and cyclophosphamide, methotrexate and 5 fluorouracil.

A new agent, trastuzumab (brand name Herceptin), an antibody directed against Her-2 protein that is abundant on the cancer cell surface. This cancer protein is over expressed in cancer cells and poses as a very good target for anticancer agents. This drug is presently undergoing testing for the use in women with localized breast cancer that demonstrate an abundance of this cancer protein.

It is important for cancer patients to educate themselves about chemotherapy and its adverse effects before making a decision to incorporate certain anticancer drugs in their treatment plan.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Breast Cancerv
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Related articles by Cancer Treatment Pro

• Motheroffive dies after being given chemotherapy overdose (telegraph.co.uk)
• Study of adjuvant endocrine treatment for breast cancer reveals cost of noncompliance (scienceblog.com)

An inevitable side effect is hair loss for chemotherapy. You whole body feels the presence of this treatment in one way or another because it is so powerful.

Chemotherapy and the Way it’s administered

Chemotherapy is a treatment done using drugs to kill cancerous cells. Typically the drugs are injected directly into the vein or muscle tissue, however some other chemotherapy drugs can be taken orally. The drugs are allowed to flow through the bloodstream covering all parts of the body because chemotherapy treatment is systematic.

Side Effects of Chemotherapy Treatment

The type of the drug administered to the patient causes certain side effects. The cells that divide rapidly are typically affected by these drugs which includes blood cells whose main job is to fight infection, help the blood to clot or carry oxygen to all parts of the body. Cancer patients tend to catch infections as the blood cells get affected, they also tend to bleed easily and experience fatigue.

Victims of cancer drugs are also the cells that line the digestive tract since they divide rapidly. Nausea, loss of appetite, vomiting and mouth sores are other side effects.

The reason of hair loss for chemotherapy treatment is poor nutrition. Depending on the chemotherapy drug there many only be a thinning of hair without great hair loss while others will cause total hair loss all over the body.

The hair loss for chemotherapy can be a very hard blow for patients since this is a clear visible effect that can make them stand out in a crowd. Even before you have any hair loss this is one reason why you should try and face this possibility.

The cause of depression in cancer patients who cannot deal with the helplessness of the situation is often hair loss for chemotherapy. This is a clear mark of the deadly disease so it is not very easy for the relatives and friends of the patient. Since hair is a part of the pride and joy for a woman’s personality it is often worse for women then men.

Cancer is difficult to deal with and the horrible side effects like hair loss for chemotherapy. However, you should get hope and strength to fight by knowing that these cancerous diseases can be treated.

Conclusion
The way to deal with such hard tasks in our lives should be one day at a time. Whatever the situation you should never lose hope. The mind and body can be helped to fight against all odds by positive thinking.

About the Author:
Caitlin Thomas is an expert on Treatments for Hair Loss.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Treatments for Hair Loss for Chemotherapy

Related articles by Cancer Treatment Pro

• Coping With the GI Side Effects of Chemotherapy (health.yahoo.com)
• Letters: Coping With Chemotherapy (2 Letters) (nytimes.com)

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Chemotherapy refers to the chemical treatment of a disease, generally in reference to cancer treatments. Learn how chemotherapy cancer treatments work to kill any cells that are rapidly dividing in the body with information from a doctor in this free video on chemotherapy and cancer treatments.

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Before agreeing to a treatment, it is important to know what the treatment consist of. With this in mind, I have introduced below the main form of treatment used to treat cancer:

Chemotherapy – Chemotherapy was developed after scientists realised that the deadly Mustard gas used in the Second World War to kill people – Cyclophosphamide – could kill rapidly dividing cells such as those of cancer. Chemotherapy will kill all rapidly dividing cells (Our T and B cells responsible for our immune system would also be targeted as they divide rapidly).

Let’s see what reputable scientists are saying about this drug:

* Late Dr Hardin Jones, professor at the University of California in Berkeley concluded in 1975 after analysing cancer survival statistics for several decades that “patients are as well, or better off, untreated”.

* Dr Charles Moertel of the Mayo clinic in Baltimore said that the major chemotherapeutic drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) only produces an objective response in 15 to 20% of patients. Even then, improvements were only partial and temporary. This very poor result is offset by the toxicity of the drug and the disastrous emotional upsets caused by the side effects.

* A German epidemiologist Dr Ulrich Abel studied most of the published reports on chemotherapy and wrote to a further 350 cancer centres and experts and stated that “the success of most chemotherapy is appalling. There is no evidence for its ability to extend in any appreciable way the lives of patients suffering from the most common organic cancer”. He also commented that: “when a tumour mass partially or temporarily disappears, those tumour cells which remain can sometimes grow much faster afterwards. Often, patients who do not respond to chemotherapy survive longer than those who do”.

Dr Abel also published details of survival rates for cancer patients treated with chemotherapy as follows:

* Bladder – No statistics available

* Breast – No evidence of an increase in life expectancy

* Cervical/Uterine – No evidence of an increase in life expectancy

* Colorectal – No increase in life expectancy

* Gastric cancer – No evidence of improvement

* Head & neck – No improvement in life expectancy (tumours may shrink)

* Ovarian – No evidence of an increase in life expectancy

* Pancreatic – More negative than patients who were not treated

Depending on which specific chemotherapy drug is used, side effects include nausea, vomiting, hair loss, potential damage to nerves and kidneys, hearing loss, seizures, bone marrow suppression, anaemia, blindness, irreversible loss of motor function, thrombosis, mucositis, heart problems, destruction of bile ducts, bone tissue death, restricted growth, infertility, lower white and red cell count, increased risk of leukaemia (specially for women who received chemotherapy and radiation for breast cancer), ovarian failure, early menopause, lactose malabsorption etc..

Chemotherapy also often destroys the patient’s liver and kidneys with its harmful effects and negatively assaults their immune system.

Mechlorethamine, one of the drugs used is so toxic that medical staff handling it are advised to use gloves and avoid inhaling it.

A reference for medical personnel handling chemotherapy advises:

The potential risks involved in handling cytotoxic agents have become a concern for health care workers. The literature reports various symptoms such as eye, membrane, and skin irritation, as well as dizziness, nausea and headaches experienced by health care workers not using safe handling precautions.

In addition, increased concerns regarding mutagenesis and teratogenesis [deformed babies] continue to be investigated. Many chemotherapy agents, the alkylating agents in particular, are known to be carcinogenic [cancer causing] in therapeutic doses.

Medical personnel handling these drugs are advised to wear double latex gloves, mask, goggles and protective gown. Amazingly, needles used for injecting the lethal drug is classified as “hazardous waste” ! Incredible when we are told that this drug will cure our Cancer.

The medical journal (Lancet 1998) stated that Irinotecan, a new chemotherapy drug only extends survival by about 3 months but with many side effects.

Chemotherapy is also useless at helping with metastases in the liver (Arch Med Res, 1998). It has however been shown to increase the life of patients suffering from ovarian cancers by a few years and that of lung cancer patients by a few months.

Treatment of Hodgkin’s disease with chemotherapy has also shown positive results. However, girls treated this way also have a 35% chance of developing breast cancer in later life. All children treated this way also are 18 times more likely to develop secondary tumours.

As Chemotherapy has been found to be (1) carcinogenic (2) immunosuppressant (3) toxic (4) futile, why is it then that doctors keep prescribing it?

The answer is extremely simple: they do not know what else to do and wish to keep in line with what other doctors do. Although most know that chemotherapy only has a very small chance of success, they feel that unless they prescribe something, the patient will go elsewhere and, in most cases (for allopathic medicine), be prescribed chemotherapy. We have to understand that this is their training.

In a survey of 79 cancer doctors conducted by McGill University in the United States, 58 doctors stated that they would not be part of trials on Chemotherapy drugs. Why? Because of the ineffectiveness of Chemotherapy and its toxicity.

About the Author:Patrick Hamouy runs a school of Alternative Therapies with branches in West London and Brighton (UK). He teaches Reiki Healing, Indian Head Massage, Emotional Freedom Therapy (EFT), Anatomy & Physiology, Oriental Diagnosis & Psychic Development. He sees customers for consultations.in Macrobiotic, Emotional Freedom Therapy (EFT) and Removal of toxic products from the home environment Full information on his web site at: http://www.therapies.com
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Chemotherapy – is This the Real Answer to Cancer?
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