My Hair Loss Was Terribly Painful!
Pia shares her story about being a cancer patient and losing her hair
Being a cancer patient is not for the faint-hearted! It involves a great deal both mentally and physically.
In my case, I have been battling lung cancer since February 2011. My illness is incurable, and I have been through many long and demanding treatments. Unfortunately, these treatments also come with many unpleasant and harsh side effects.
Once again, I went through a chemotherapy treatment that started at the end of July 2022 and ended at the end of September 2022. The treatment I received was Carboplatin/Vinorelbine. One of the possible side effects is hair thinning, but it rarely happens.
At the end of October, long after finishing chemotherapy, I noticed when brushing my hair and after washing it that I was losing more hair than usual. After it had continued for about a week, I began collecting the hair from my hairbrush in a 2-litre plastic bag.
 |
 |
 |
 |
My hair loss suddenly became painful
I began to feel discomfort in my scalp. The days went by, and new side effects became worse and worse. Suddenly it became terribly painful, and I was in great discomfort in my scalp. There was burning, itching, tingling, crawling sensations, and it felt like an abrasion that had just formed new skin. One night it became so intense that I woke up and had to rinse my head under water.
I visited Toftild’s website and found something called La Biosthetique Sensitive Calming Scalp Lotion, which was supposed to help restore the scalp to a normal condition. I was ready to try anything because I couldn’t find relief anywhere. I just needed calm in my scalp. I tried it, and it worked immediately! It was a total relief not to have that pain.
It is a very lightweight lotion that is easy to distribute across the scalp. It doesn’t make the hair greasy or dull in appearance, but it removed all the discomfort and pain I had. During the first few days, I used it 2 to 3 times daily. But after just a few days, it was enough to use it morning and evening. After 10 days, I could clearly see that it worked very well. In fact, so well that by January I only use it 1–2 times a week, or when the discomfort returns.
I contacted my oncology department and told them about my hair loss and the severe side effects. They had rarely heard of anyone experiencing such intense discomfort as I had, although they had seen a few cases. Due to my ongoing hair loss, I was granted a prescription for a wig/headwear.
Status at the end of January is that I have lost approximately two-thirds of my hair, and unfortunately, the hair loss continues. So I have bought some headwear, as I feel cold on my head, especially when I am outdoors.
