When diagnosed with breast cancer, there are a lot of difficult experiences you’ll need to prepare for. That includes telling your family members about your diagnosis, managing your employment situation to accommodate your health, and the possibility of losing your hair during chemotherapy. It’s tough. Many women say that above even a mastectomy, losing their hair is the hardest part about going through treatment.
To help help with this experience, we offer this post to explain why many patients lose their hair during chemotherapy, which treatments can cause baldness, and the one breast cancer treatment that causes what is known as Taxotere permanent hair loss.
The good news is, not all women lose their hair during chemotherapy. And women that do lose their hair usually see complete hair regrowth with some slight changes in texture or color.
Why do women lose their hair during chemo? Chemotherapy helps to stop cell division of cancer cells in hopes that the treatment will prevent the cancer from spreading and/or attempt to decrease the amount of cancer cells in the body.
Unfortunately, chemo targets all cells that rapidly divide—this unfortunately, includes hair follicles, resulting in hair thinning, falling out, and compromising the chance of regrowth. Chemotherapy often causes loss of hair not only on the scalp, but also eye lashes, brows, arms, legs, etc.
The degree to which patients lose hair often depends on the stage of cancer and which chemo drugs are prescribed. Some later-stage treatments do not interfere with normal hair growth, while early-stage breast cancer treatments do result in some amount of short-term thinning or balding.
This happens and a different pace for each woman. Sometimes it happens slowly over time, but for some women, hair falls out across the scalp and the body rather quickly. Either way the process can be very difficult. Some women choose to shave their heads to beat cancer to the task. In this case, women often feel that it is their choice to shave their hair rather than cancer taking that away from them.
Keep in mind that apart from Docetaxel (Taxotere), each of these chemo drugs, only cause short-term loss of hair, while docetaxel is known to cause this condition permanently. Scientists express little hope for these women to see any hair regrowth in their lifetimes.
There is evidence that the manufacturer of the drug hid evidence of this adverse effect from U.S. consumers for at least 10 years.
There is significant controversy around the drug’s warning label with regard to this side effect. In 2005, manufacturer Sanofi-Aventis warned European consumers that, “...cases of persistent alopecia have been reported,” meaning the condition persisted long after chemotherapy was complete. This reaction is not normal. As we discussed above, most patients see complete hair regrowth within 3-6 months of completing treatment, while docetaxel users may never see hair regrowth.
One study sponsored by Sanofi-Aventis featured in the European warning label said that 9.2% of patients in the study still experienced alopecia after 10 years. There is little hope of hair growth ever returning. Independent studies such as the NCRI Cancer Conference study found that 10-15% of patients who take Taxotere will lose their hair, many permanently.
The risk has been clear for years, yet the manufacturer just started warning U.S. consumers of the adverse effect in December of 2015. In 2015, the manufacturer added language to the warning label such as, “cases of permanent hair loss have been reported” “with frequency unknown”.
As a U.S. consumer, you have the right to understand each of the side effects or adverse effects associated with your chemotherapy treatment—or any medical treatment. There is clear evidence that the manufacturer neglected to warn U.S. patients of the risk of a devastating permanent condition.
If you took Taxotere as part of your chemo treatment and still do not have hair regrowth after 6 months of chemotherapy, it may be right for you and your family to file for compensation from the manufacturer for your loss. The alternative treatment, Taxol, is considered by many in the medical community to be as effective, if not more effective.
