New Delhi: ‘Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai’ actress Hina Khan recently announced that she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer since then the actor has been sharing many motivational posts related to her treatment on her Instagram. On Thursday morning, she posted a video where it was seen that she had got her hair cut. This is one such brave move taken by her.
In the video her mother was immensely emotional, Hina said, ‘Please don’t cry, it’s just hair mumma, Baal hai. As soon as the video came up, fans were taken by grief. Well, hair loss during cancer treatment is a common side effect of both treatments chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The cells present in the hair divide rapidly to produce new hair.
To explain how cancer treatment affects hair News9, spoke to Dr Atul Narayankar, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Wockhardt Hospitals, Mira Road who said, “Chemotherapy also known as Cytotoxic therapy is a type of cancer treatment used to kill cancer cells and prevent them from spreading further. These drugs get dissolved in the bloodstream to destroy cancer cells throughout the body. They are designed in a specific way to quickly kill dividing cells. Hair follicles are the structures in the skin where the hair grows.”
Hair loss is a side effect of chemotherapy
“It becomes difficult for chemotherapy drugs to differentiate between cancer cells and rapidly dividing cells in the hair follicles. As a result, these drugs cause severe damage to the hair follicles leading to hair fall. Stages of hair fall can be classified into two ways such as anagen effluvium and timing. Anagen effluvium is a type of hair loss caused due to chemotherapy. This happens as the drug starts affecting the hair follicles during the growing phase of the hair cycle. The hair loss usually starts to happen a few weeks after beginning chemotherapy and can worsen quickly over time,” explained Dr Narayankar.
Radiation therapy is a cancer treatment that uses high-energy rays to shrink tumours and destroy cancer cells. It can be used when the cancer is in an early stage to prevent it from coming back.
How does radiation affect the roots of hair?
Just like chemotherapy, it can also impact normal cells that are dividing rapidly. According to Dr Narayankar, “It is usually targeted at the specific area of the body where the cancer has started spreading. The intense radiation can significantly affect the hair follicles in areas like the neck and head. The high-energy rays can directly damage the DNA in the hair follicles, preventing them from growing back. Severe hair loss caused due to radiation therapy is known as radiotherapy-induced alopecia.”
The chances of hair growing back increases once the chemotherapy is completed. However, it is impossible to guarantee the same texture and colour of the hair. The hair regrowth journey depends on the dosage and for how long the treatment was done. Higher dosage and longer duration of treatment sometimes may lead to permanent hair loss in a particular area.
On Thursday morning, actress Hina Khan, who has been diagnosed with stage three breast cancer took to her Instagram to post a video where it was seen that she had got her hair cut. This is another brave move taken by her. Hair loss during cancer treatment is a common side effect of both treatments chemotherapy and radiation therapy. The cells present in the hair divide rapidly to produce new hair. Expert explains how cancer treatment affects hair? Health Conditions Health News: Latest News from Health Care, Mental Health, Weight Loss, Disease, Nutrition, Healthcare
