Hair Loss and Cancer Treatment
- America’s Got Talent star Jane Marczewski, who goes by the stage name ‘Nightbirde,’ recently gave fans an update on her cancer journey by posting a picture of her saying goodbye to her short, brown hair and rocking a bald head.
- There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to dealing with hair loss from chemotherapy, but there are options. You can rock a bald head or find a new style just for you with a wig. You should discuss options with your doctor as they may know how best to proceed based on how you’re feeling.
- Grieving the initial shock of hair loss can be an important step in accepting change during a cancer journey. But if you allow yourself the time to feel through your emotions, you might find it easier to gain some positivity from there.
Marczewski was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer on New Year's Eve in 2019, and she's still fighting for her health. The 30-year-old pop artist had her world turned upside down when doctors found multiple tumors on her liver, lungs, lymph nodes, ribs and spine. They told her she had three to six months to live, but she's still singing. In an interview with local news station NBC4 in Columbus, Ohio, Marczewski said her doctors were hopeful after her recent chemotherapy treatment. And even though she knows her cancer is “incurable,” she’s determined to chase down her dreams anyway, inspiring many along the way.
Read More“It was a good run, hair,” she wrote for her caption. “Thanks for the memories, see you again soon. ✨ #baldgirlsclub #seejanewin”View this post on Instagram
Hair Loss during Cancer Treatment
We don’t know Marczewski’s exact treatment plan, but we do know she’s undergone chemotherapy in the past which can cause hair loss. Many chemotherapies do cause hair loss or thinning, and this can be an incredibly distressing side effect for some. It's important to speak with your doctor about any personal issues that may be caused by treatment side effects including the loss or thinning of your hair. To help patients cope with hair loss, a doctor or nurse may be able to recommend a local wig-maker or other resources that can help slow down the process.
RELATED: Preventing Hair Loss During Chemotherapy: Scalp-Cooling Devices
However, it's also important to remember that the hair loss associated with chemo is temporary. Hair loss typically begins about three to four weeks after a woman begins chemotherapy and continues throughout treatment. Woman can expect regrowth around four to six weeks after they complete treatment, but some patients may experience some changes to hair color and texture when it begins growing back.
Prioritizing your mental health and doing whatever will make you the happiest is of the utmost importance when undergoing cancer treatment. And whether you decide to rock a bald head or go out with a fun wig, there are no right or wrong answers. You can join Jane Marczewski’s ‘bald girls club,’ or you can try out a new look like San Jose resident Teri Chow.
Chow was 44 years old when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She knew she would lose her hair during chemotherapy, and she even tried to prepare her family for the change by cutting her long locks into a short bob. In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, she explained the whole process and how she decided to cope with the side effect.
"I think it was shortly after the second round of chemo, so that would've been about four weeks after starting chemo, [my hair] started to fall out," Chow says. "It was coming out in the shower [and] it was coming out just combing [my] hair."
How Ovarian Cancer Survivor Teri Chow's Wig (& Humor) Helped Her Cope With Hair Loss
Some women, like Marczewski, choose to shave their heads right away so they don’t have to watch their hair fall out, but Chow decided to start wearing a wig immediately. She even looks back on that time in her life with some humor. Se would often laugh because many people didn't even realize she was wearing a wig.
“The other moms at the school didn't realized that I was going through this, and they'd compliment me on the wig and not knowing it was wig,” Chow laughs. “I made the mistake to somebody I thought knew. I went, 'Oh, thank you,' And I moved the wig forward and she freaked out [and I was] like, 'Sorry, sorry, I thought you knew!'”
Then when her hair eventually started to grow back, Chow decided to switch things up and ditch the wig. She visited a hair dresser who transformed her short, curly, gray locks into a whole new look with a straightener and some dye.
And while Chow may have handled the hair loss journey with a bit more laughter than some, it’s important to know that everyone’s experience is individual. Feeling upset over losing your hair is very common and a completely warranted emotion.
Experts tell SurvivorNet that grieving over a cancer diagnosis often represents the end of them being a "healthy person." They encourage patients to feel through those emotions because the grief can be a crucial step to accepting the new normal and being able to push through treatment. After grieving the initial shock of hair loss, it might be easier to accept and find some positivity from there.
“I help patients acknowledge their grief so they can move on. I think the more we try to push [those feelings] away and say, 'Oh, it doesn't matter,' it tends to stick around a little longer,” says Laurie Ostacher, a medical social worker at Sutter Bay Medical Foundation in the Bay Area. “If [a woman] seems like she's having trouble moving on, we explore [that too].”
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