Hair Loss & Body Positivity
- If you watch The Voice, you definitely know who Holly Forbes is. Her singing, and lack of hair, is drawing big attention.
- Contrary to rumors, Forbes doesn't have cancer. However, her hair loss is a result of other health issues from when she was younger.
- Not everyone is able to embrace baldness like Forbes, and that's OK. When coming to peace with hair loss, some patients will sport wigs or scarves, while others embrace their baldness.
She's taking the televised singing competition by storm with her insanely impressive vocals. In September, she wowed the show's judges with her cover of Elton John's hit song Rocket Man, and continues to blow everyone away with her voice. (Ariana Grande and Kelly Clarkson fought over having her on their team, but Forbes ultimately went with Team Ariana.)
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Contrary to rumors, Forbes doesn't have cancer. (Hair loss is a common side effect of chemotherapy, a type of cancer treatment.) However, her hair loss is a result of other health issues from when she was younger.
Forbes, a 30-year-old Kentucky native, is also big on body positivity; she's the first to embrace her bald head. Her confidence sends a strong message to women and girls everywhere, especially those struggling with hair loss from cancer treatment.
Related: Making Peace With Hair Loss Stephanie Hess Shares Her Ovarian Cancer Story
Holly Forbes' Hair Loss
According to reports, when Forbes was roughly 11 years old, she began experiencing seizures, which resulted in her being put on medication to help.
Chemotherapy Side Effects Hair Loss
But that medication cocktail made her hair brittle and patchy, and she would end up losing her hair completely because of it.
She's previously said that as a kid, it wasn't easy being bald. "I listened to music; it gave me confidence." That confidence has carried her all the way to The Voice stage, where she continues to dominate the competition.
Coping With Hair Loss
Not everyone is able to embrace baldness like Forbes, and that's OK.
Vivian Ruszkiewicz, a nurse practitioner with OhioHealth, a not-for-profit system of hospitals and health care providers in Columbus, Ohio, tells SurvivorNet that hair loss is one of the more "distressing" side effects of chemotherapy.
"It's one of the things that people can see from the outside that people may know that you are ill," she says, "and that poses a lot of stress for patients."
She says that some people who only experience partial hair loss still choose to wear a wig, like many people who lose their hair completely, before chemo so that they're prepared, "so they can feel more like themselves during chemotherapy."
But it's important to make peace with losing your hair, because with some chemotherapy drugs, the side effect of hair loss is inevitable. When coming to peace with this, some patients will sport wigs or scarves, while others embrace their baldness.
San Jose resident Teri Chow was 44 years old when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and she knew she would eventually lose her hair while undergoing chemo. In order to prepare her family, she decided to cut her hair into a short bob. However, as expected, she started losing her hair.
How Ovarian Cancer Survivor Teri Chow's Wig (& Humor) Helped Her Cope With Hair Loss
"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."
Some people may choose to shave their head as a way to avoid watching their hair fall out, but instead, Chow decided to start wearing a wig. For her, it was a humorous experience, especially since many people didn't even realize she was wearing one.
"In fact at the school, the other moms at the school didn't realize that I was going through this and they would compliment me on the wig and not knowing it was a wig," Chow laughs.
Contributing: SurvivorNet staff
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