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BY Cynthia DeMarco

If you need chemotherapy as a part of your cancer treatment, you might have some concerns about losing your hair. But does every chemotherapy drug cause hair loss? And is there anything you can do to prevent this possible side effect?

We talked to Deepti Chopra, M.B.B.S., a body image specialist in our Psychiatric Oncology Center. Here’s what she wants patients to know.

What are the most common causes of hair loss during...

Person with patchy bald head, seated with her back turned to viewer in a white living room

BY Lesley Zentz

As a general rule, I don’t take medicine unless I absolutely have to. I’ve never been one to swallow an aspirin at the first sign of a fever...

BY Constance Porter, Ph.D.

When I first lost my hair due to breast cancer treatment, I often heard people say, “Don’t worry. It’s only hair.” The implication was that...

BY Cynthia DeMarco

Starting chemotherapy for the first time? If you are new to this common cancer treatment, you're probably wondering how chemotherapy works, if you will lose your hair or even if chemotherapy hurts.

We spoke with Mariela Blum-Murphy, M.D., to learn more. Here’s what she had to say.

What is chemotherapy?

Chemotherapy is a group of medications that can shrink or destroy cancer cells.

Chemotherapy is used in...

Chemotherapy IV bags and pole

BY Aaliyah Parker

In November 2016, when I was 9 years old, I was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma. My parents took me to MD Anderson, where I had chemotherapy...

BY Cheryl Ratliff

When I received a phone call about an abnormality discovered during my mammogram in December 2016, I didn’t think much of it. I was prone...

BY Gillian Kruse

Angelina was Shamsha Damani’s best friend for three years. A constant in the MD Anderson program director’s daily life, well-known to her...

BY Racheal Martin

Before I started breast cancer treatment at age 35, I had all sorts of ideas about how difficult my life was about to get. In a way, I was...

BY Jane Mooney

Sometimes knowledge is not all it’s cracked up to be. So, when I was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer in July 2016, I told Dr. Robert...

BY Cynthia DeMarco

Two-time widower Paul Nielsen was in excellent health at age 67. So the former marathon runner knew something was wrong when he started feeling...