Effects of the hair loss in breast cancer patients; It is almost unthinkable for a woman to part with this integral part of being. A woman’s hair is one of her biggest assets. They are an integral part of her personality.
Right from when she is a teenager, a woman would use her hair as an identity, a way of letting the world know who she is. In this regard a research has been conducted by a reputable institution that highlights the effects of hair loss in women suffering from breast cancer.
The researchers conducted interviews of more than twenty women regarding their experiences after they were treated for breast cancer in early stages.
It came to the knowledge of the researchers that hair loss was a very important topic for women who had lost their hair as well as for those who hadn’t. They also found out that the women who had gone through chemotherapy treatment deemed hair loss as more traumatic than losing their breasts.
The research further revealed that not only losing hair from the head was traumatic, but losing other body hair like eyebrows also diminished the woman’s sense of identity. The way they are viewed by other people also changes.
One woman complained that people would view her as a man.Moreover, appearing in public with bald heads immediately made it known that they had suffered from cancer.
Consequently, they had to use a wig or any other guise in order to hide it. They would often earwigs in order to not allow people to see their hair loss.
Another unexpected phenomenon that came to the knowledge of the researchers was that that some women, who did not lose their hair, also had some bad experiences. Most of them felt guilty about not having to suffer the same fate as other women with the same disease.
It was also found out that visibility of cancer treatment is an important factor when people regard patient either positively or negatively.
Unfortunately, there is no research that tells how to stop hair loss but the study suggests that people should be educated about possible effects of treatments so that women are not singled out after going through a painful treatment.