Looking and feeling better

When you’re at your most vulnerable, your appearance matters hugely. Being ill affects the way you look anyway and cancer treatment (drugs and radiotherapy) is likely to affect your skin, making it dry and sensitive, and possibly cause hair loss

Certain – but not all – drugs will cause partial or complete alopecia (where all body hair is temporarily lost). Your medical team will explain this (for more information, visit royalmarsden.nhs.uk/RMH/cancer/ livingwithcancer/hairloss/hairlosstreatment. htm). The big thing to remember is that your hair will grow back, starting within two to four weeks of the end of treatment. Meanwhile, there are ways to help the problems.

• Scalp cooling uses a ‘cold cap’ during chemotherapy to narrow the blood vessels and prevent the drug passing into cells at your hair root and damaging them. It can only be used with certain drugs and some people find the discomfort hard to bear.
• Organise a wig (preferably two) early in your treatment so it can be matched for colour and style. These can be sourced in hospital, or from a high-street store or specialist supplier. Synthetic wigs are very good now. Also talk to your hair stylist, who can cut the wig to make it look as natural as possible. (A useful website, compiled by hair professionals, is mynewhair.org)
• Try other headwear options, such as headscarves (very Kylie!), cotton or towelling turbans, and soft hats.
• Wash hair regularly in tepid water with a mild, moisturising, fragrance-free shampoo and conditioner. (Try to avoid sodium lauryl sulfate, a foaming agent and known skin irritant, and added colorants.) Blot dry – don’t rub – and dry naturally; avoid driers, tongs, heated rollers or styling products. Use a baby brush and comb.
• Massage your scalp (dry or wet) to help circulation. Use a circular kneading action with your fingertips, working from the front hairline to the nape. A scalp mask and scalp tonic can help flaking and itching (specialist products for flaky, itchy, sensitive scalps are available from philipkingsley.com).
• Experts generally advise not to colour hair until six weeks after treatment finishes, then use gentle vegetable-based colorants. Also avoid perming, straightening, etc.

There’s lots of good information in Breast Cancer Care’s leaflet Breast Cancer and Hair Loss (tel: 0808 800 6000, breastcancercare.org.uk).

Radiotherapy causes hair loss (usually temporary) in the specific area treated and may also cause skin ‘burns’. Homoeopath and pharmacist Margo Marrone advises a homoeopathic mix of bismuthum, cadmium sulphuratum, nux vomica, radium bromatum and x-ray (which is available from homoeopathic pharmacies). This helps to prevent skin burns and other side effects of radiotherapy, such as fever, headaches, nausea, vomiting and loss of appetite. If you do get radiation burns, apply rosehip seed oil (rosa mosqueta) twice daily to soothe and speed healing.

Look good feel better

The beauty industry charity Look Good Feel Better (LGFB) provides support to women undergoing any kind of cancer treatment. Free make-up workshops for in- and outpatients are held at a network of 41 hospitals nationwide. Beauty professionals take small groups of patients through a 12-step skincare and make-up regime designed to combat the visible side effects of treatment.

Each woman receives a gift box with 17 products, donated by the cosmetics industry, which they are shown how to use to best effect. The results in terms of restoring the women’s femininity and self confidence can be significant. Look Good Feel Better, tel: 01372 470900, lgfb.co.uk

Tip

Finding appropriate (and attractive) underwear after breast surgery can be difficult. Marks & Spencer has a post-surgery lingerie range, available in more than 21
stores nationwide and online (marksandspencer.com, tel: 0845 302 1234)