A grossly overlooked condition?
Chemotherapy-induced alopecia is a traumatic experience for most patients undergoing treatment with cytotoxic drugs (Lemieux et al, 2007; Hesketh, 2004; McGarvey et al, 2001). The news about hair loss may not really sink in from the start when cancer patients are first informed of their cancer or undergo chemotherapy. The shock and impact of hair loss can lie latent, only to hit the patients with full force on their road to recovery, at a time when they are longing to regain some semblance of normality (Mitchell, 2007). In some cases, hair loss becomes harder than expected to deal with compared to having the actual treatment (Davidhizar et al, 1993).  Patients who have relapsed and are undergoing further chemotherapy which causes alopecia may find the loss of hair a second time to be more devastating (1997).