• Question: why do peoples hair fall out during cancer?

    Asked by candyboo14 to Iain, Anna, Nick on 19 Mar 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Anna Middleton

      Anna Middleton answered on 19 Mar 2014:

      Hiya candyboo
      its the chemotherapy (one of the treatments) that causes the hair cells to die and then the hair falls out. But when the chemo stops the hair grows back. Funnily though it can sometimes grow back a different colour or can grow back curly when it was straight before.

    • Photo: Iain Moal

      Iain Moal answered on 19 Mar 2014:

      Well, this isn’t because of the cancer itself, but because of the drugs that are used to treat cancer. Most of these drugs are designed to kill cells that a growing and dividing very quickly, because that is what cancer cells do. However, there are other cells in the body that do this naturally, such as cells in our gut, in our immune system and in our hair follicles. This is why people who take these drugs can feel sick, can get ill more easily, and can lose their hair.

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