http://www.plwc.org/ - Managing Side Effects taken from the website of the American Society of Clinical Oncology’s (ASCO) “People Living With Cancer” site.

Cancer and cancer treatment can cause many side effects; some are easily controlled and others require specialized care.
This information is adapted from ASCO’s Optimizing Cancer Care: The Importance of Symptom Management, a curriculum that teaches doctors about understanding and treating the side effects of cancer and its treatments.

Not all chemotherapy drugs cause hair loss. After chemotherapy, hair does grow back. While some of the newer, more targeted chemotherapy drugs will not affect hair, the majority do cause hair loss. And unfortunately, there’s nothing you can do to prevent it. Depending on the drug prescribed by your physician, your hair may gradually thin before you lose all your hair — or you may lose it all at once.

To prepare themselves emotionally for the change, most patients have their hair cut before they start chemo. Others choose to have their heads shaved. Just be assured it will grow back. Typically, within a few weeks after treatment ends, your hair will start growing back. If you’ve been using hair color or chemicals, your hair may be slower to grow back or may be more brittle.

As hair begins to grow back, it will have a different texture; it may be curlier than before. Six months or a year later, your hair will have returned to its normal texture. Until your hair grows back, moisturizer on your scalp might help skin feel more comfortable and less itchy. Until their hair grows back, some people choose to wear a wig or hairpiece, which insurance usually covers. Women sometimes wear scarves; others prefer the natural look, as an expression of their battle with cancer. This is your choice; whatever makes you most comfortable is the right decision.

Just don’t worry if — during months of chemotherapy — your hair starts growing back a little. This is not a sign your chemo isn’t working. It’s just a natural part of the process. Don’t let your hair loss bother you too much. It’s an unfortunate side effect of chemotherapy that just about everyone goes through. But thankfully, it is temporary — and it’s helping you battle your disease.