Most chemical treatments for cancer affect the patient’s
hair in some way. It’s a tradeoff for the beneficial effects of the treatment.
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| Before and After |
In my case I had arrived at the age of 67 with a relatively
full head of hair, if rather more sparse than in younger days, and with a good
deal of the original color remaining. After six months of treatment with the
Pfizer targeted therapy drug Sutent for my renal cancer, most of that remaining
hair color has vanished and my hair is somewhat sparser, both on my head and
everywhere else.
I suspect that most people who undergo this type of
treatment find this particular side effect to be psychologically aging and,
perhaps, consequently difficult to deal with. When I look in the mirror, I
remind myself that the cancer is not aging me—or giving me the appearance of
aging—but, rather, the treatment is doing so. The treatment, however, is
keeping the cancer in check and allowing me to live longer and to go about living
most days in relative normality.
What’s the old saying: Just because there’s snow on the roof
doesn’t mean there isn’t still a fire in the furnace? Acquiring a “snowy roof”
is not a bad tradeoff, considering the alternative.
