I have hundreds of photos in my camera roll that might seem like the musings of someone who never turns down a selfie. But if you look closer, the subject of these countless photos is my hair. You might think I’m a stylist’s dream—constantly chopping and coloring, with cool memories to accompany each change. But, in reality, my collection reminds me of what I’ve lost and how much further I must go to feel like myself again.
My diagnosis
It started in 2022 with a trip to the doctor for white bumps in the back of my throat, which I assumed was strep. From January through April, I bounced from ENT specialists, trying to figure out why these swollen bumps wouldn’t disappear after treating them with rounds of steroids. By May, I found out I had Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) that affects white blood cells.
The irony was after years of having light brown hair, I finally started the journey to go blonde, getting it to the perfect golden shade a week before I received my diagnosis. I caught my cancer early, and everyone, from my doctor to well-intentioned friends, told me it was a “good“ cancer to get, meaning my outcome would likely be positive, and after treatment, I’d remain in remission. People automatically put me in the “cancer warrior“ category, but dealing with a diagnosis and starting treatment was anything but easy. My body experienced blood clots and cancer-induced asthma, to name a few. Despite all this, I made it through my six rounds of chemo and had one final PET scan standing between me and remission. I went in for my scan, and two weeks later, my doctor told me that everything looked good and that they’d see me in three months.
It was quite surreal after twelve emergency room visits, one collapsed lung, and seeing a slew of specialists. Medically speaking, I was cleared to rejoin society, but mentally and physically, I was still in shambles. My bald head and eyebrows were the most obvious signs I was still healing. I desperately counted down the days my hair would be below my shoulders or could be thrown up into a messy bun without needing a pin to secure still-growing flyaways. I regularly dreamt of sitting in my colorist’s chair, in hopes that the foils would put an end to the neon “cancer patient“ sign my hair (or lack thereof) communicated.
“People automatically put me in the ‘cancer warrior’ category, but dealing with a diagnosis and starting treatment was anything but easy.”
Hair loss and cancer treatment
See, hair loss is a common side effect of chemotherapy and, according to Beth N. McLellan, MD, and director of supportive oncodermatology at Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center, hair loss during treatment happens because chemo works by attacking rapidly dividing cells, like cancer cells. “Unfortunately, some normal cells that divide rapidly can also be affected, like hair follicles, which are the second fastest-dividing cells your body produces,“ Dr. McLellan says.
The most common side effects of chemotherapy are fatigue, nausea, mouth sores, loss of appetite, and hair loss, but each person’s experience is unique. “Hair shed typically happens in the first few weeks and grows back over the months following a patient’s last treatment, but some other cancer treatments can affect the texture or color of the hair, and some can cause thinning rather than complete hair loss,“ Dr. McLellan says.
Hair follicles go through four stages within a growth cycle: anagen (growth), catagen (intermediate phase), telogen (where the hair stops growing and rests in the follicle), and exogen (where hair falls out). “Certain chemotherapy treatments can cause the immediate release of hairs in the growth phase known as a type of hair loss called anagen effluvium,“ explains Anabel Kingsley, consultant trichologist and brand president at Philip Kingsley, meaning that after completing chemotherapy, your hair will grow back, but the treatment can cause it to return with a different texture and color, which can be another emotional ordeal for some people. “For many people, it’s not uncommon for hair to come back curlier, unpigmented, or slightly lighter. However, everyone’s scalp and hair will be more fragile at first following chemotherapy, Recommended Story For You :
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