Does moustache fall with chemotherapy drugs?!
Question: My dad is starting chemo for colon cancer (will either have 5FU/leucovorin +/- oxyplatin or Xeloda- not sure as we are due to see the oncologist tomorrow).
He is a bit worried about losing his moustache (not much hair on top to lose, you see + he's had it all his life).
Does anyone know if facial hair stays put??
Thanks
Answers: My dad is starting chemo for colon cancer (will either have 5FU/leucovorin +/- oxyplatin or Xeloda- not sure as we are due to see the oncologist tomorrow).
He is a bit worried about losing his moustache (not much hair on top to lose, you see + he's had it all his life).
Does anyone know if facial hair stays put??
Thanks
Actually, many patients do not experience any significant hairloss with any of the regimens you listed.
Xeloda or 5FU would not be expected to cause much hairloss of significance. Oxaliplatin does not add much in the risk; in one of the clinical trials, the risk of all grades of hair loss (from no effect to complete loss) was 30%, for 5FU it was 28%. Most of these numbers represents thinning.
Moustache and eyebrows generally grow slower than hair on head, so many times eyebrows do fine, moustache could look a little spotty but may make it through unscathed.
Whatever happens, being alive without a moustache beats the alternative, right? It will grow back in any case.
God bless, best wishes
His mustache will fall out. It us not localized to the hair on the head, hair all over the body is lost, including facial hair, eyebrows, and hair on extremities.
It depends on the chemo - different drugs affect different hair. Different people react differently. Dosages make a difference. Some people lose facial hair. Ask the oncologist.
It depends on the person, and on the dosage. Personally, I lost the lot from head to toe. It felt peculiar not having facial hair, including no eyebrows. But some others didn't lose any hair at all despite having the same dosage.
All the hair eventually came back, but my head hair was never the same. Small price to pay for getting rid of the cancer.
I lost my hair on head, eyebrows and eyelashes. But the best part was I didn't have to shave my legs or underarms for 4 months! I does come back.
My eyebrows and eyelashes stayed put. If I lost a hair, it didn't grow back, but it didn't fall out on its own.
I hope all goes well for your dad.
Best wishes