Coping with chemotherapy-induced hair loss

Questions To Ask Your Health Care Provider

• Will my treatment result in temporary hair loss?
• Will my hair likely grow back the way it was before?
• Are there any treatments to reduce hair loss during chemotherapy or to help hair regrow after chemotherapy?
• What is scalp cooling?
• What side effects can occur after scalp cooling?
• How much does scalp cooing cost? Will it be covered by my health insurance?
• What other side effects should I expect from chemotherapy?

Open Clinical Trials

The following studies look at the management of side effects: 

Multiple cancers

• NCT02296450: Quality of Life (QoL) Assessment in Cancer Patients and Survivors With Dermatologic Conditions Using Dermatologic QoL Instruments. This large study examines how skin conditions that are related to different kinds of cancer or cancer treatments affect a patient's overall well-being. 
• NCT05056077: Tools to be Fit. This quality-of-life study examines the best tools for helping cancer survivors improve their diet, and exercise for people with bladder, breast, colon, endometrial, kidney (renal cell carcinoma), ovarian, prostate or rectal cancer.
• NCT03996265: Bupropion in Reducing Cancer Related Fatigue in Cancer Survivors. This study tests how well the drug bupropion (Wellbutrin) reduces cancer-related fatigue for survivors.

Breast cancer

• NCT04586530: Telehealth and Memory Study (TAMS). This trial seeks to confirm the effectiveness of Memory and Attention Adaptation Training (TAMS), a cognitive-behavioral therapy as a treatment for chemotherapy-related cognitive dysfunction among breast cancer survivors.
• NCT02290834: Chemotherapy-induced cognitive and brain changes in older adults with breast cancer. This study investigates cognitive abilities and brain images before and after chemotherapy to identify people at risk for cognitive side effects and to better understand the effects of treatment on brain structure and function.
• NCT03879629: TrAstuzumab Cardiomyopathy Therapeutic Intervention With Carvedilol (TACTIC). Breast cancer patients receiving Herceptin or other HER2-directed therapy are at risk of heart damage. This study looks at whether beta-blocker drugs could help prevent this from happening.   

Colorectal cancer

• NCT05239338: Preserving Fertility After Colorectal Cancer Study (PREFACE). This study investigates the reproductive health and clinical outcomes among individuals ages 18 to 49 who are diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
• NCT06420726: Resistance Exercise and Creatine in Colorectal Cancer. This study assesses the feasibility of combining creatine supplementation with resistance training versus resistance training alone in colorectal cancer survivors. 

Ovarian cancer

• NCT05047926: Prehabilitation for Advanced Ovarian Cancer Patients. This study tests whether structured activity for women undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy improves their physical state before surgery and thus improves outcomes.

Prostate cancer

• NCT03971591: Men Moving Forward: A Lifestyle Program for African-American Prostate Cancer Survivors (MMF). This study looks at Men Moving Forward (MMF), a community-based lifestyle intervention that supports adherence to nutrition and physical activity guidelines to promote improved body composition and lessen the side effects of treatment.
• NCT05155501: Pelvic Fascia spARing Radical Prostatectomy TrIAL (PARTIAL). This clinical trial studies whether pelvic fascia-sparing radical prostatectomy has similar cancer control and sexual function outcomes and significantly better urinary function, less penile deformity and inguinal hernia risks as compared to radical prostatectomy.