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Fight Cancer, Keep Your Hair: A Radiation Remedy?
by Alexandra Kilpatrick
Lynn Malayter was shocked to be diagnosed with breast cancer nearly two years ago. After she started chemotherapy and began losing her hair, her husband shaved her head. She bought scarves, hats and wigs to cover her head, which was constantly cold.
“2013 was a challenge, but we overcame it,” Malayter told WISC-TV. “To maintain a sense of normalcy would have been really nice.”
University of Wisconsin oncology professor William Fahl recently led a preclinical study to help prevent hair loss during chemotherapy and radiation.
While testing the effectiveness of another drug in preventing hair loss during treatments, Fahl discovered a vasoconstrictor that can help save the patients’ hair follicles.
Found in Novocain and similar numbing agents at dentist offices, the drug restricts blood flow to an area of skin. Fahl explains that when the vasoconstrictor is used to eliminate feeling in your gums, it keeps the injected anesthetic in a particular spot.
According to Fahl, applying the ingredient topically to the scalp protects hair follicles from chemotherapy and prevents hair loss.
“The blood vessels lay a few, about a millimeter below the surface,” Fahl told WISC-TV. “So by topically applying it, you constrict those blood vessels and in the process, without detail, you essentially diminish the amount of chemotherapy that’s delivered to that thin film of tissue and that tissue basically holds all of the stem cells for the hair follicle as well as the skin, so you’re protecting them.”
While other studies are pushing for more chemotherapy, Fahl comments that preventing some of the negative side effects of treatment becomes even more important.
“Our goal is that in 10 years, people go to their oncologist with the clear expectation of having their cancers cured and do so in a manner that’s consistent with their life,” Fahl told WISC-TV.
Fahl also says that he hopes for more funding to push through the necessary phases of research as the treatment continues to be tested.
If you or someone you know would like to learn more about hair loss and how to treat it, please feel free to schedule a consultation or contact one of our representatives today!
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