Drugs That Usually Do Not Cause Hair Loss:
Avastin, Erbitux, Fludara, Gleevec, Herceptin, Iressa, Methotrexate, Novantrone, Paraplatin, Platinol, Rituxan, and Xeloda.
Please note that this list is not complete, and while hair loss is an unfortunate side-effect of chemotherapy you should not refuse a drug simply because it may cause you to lose your hair you should always make your health and well-being your number one priority. Consult with your doctor, and identify the drug that gives you the best chance to lead a healthy, normal life.
If you should happen to be prescribed a drug likely to cause hair loss, be sure to stop by New Image Hair Clinic for a free consultation. Were here to help you through this difficult time.
Our ongoing training and development to improve our products and services guarantees that you will have access to the latest medical and non-medical techniques and procedures to give you the most natural looking hair and hairline you deserve. We are confident that the results we will give you will meet or exceed your expectations. We are happy to share a client and patient referral list. Our number one concern is you!
What Can I Do If Hair Loss Is Expected With My Radiation Therapy Treatment
Each person responds differently when learning that they may experience hair loss. There is no right or wrong response. What’s important is to do what you feel comfortable with, to do what is right for you. If you expect to lose the hair on your head during your cancer treatments, the following tips may be helpful:
- If your hair is long, cutting it shorter may help decrease the impact of your hair loss when it occurs.
- Some people find it easier to deal with hair loss by shaving their heads before hair loss occurs.
- Be sure to protect your head with a hat to prevent sun exposure on sunny days- and not just in the summer months! This is especially important for men who are less likely to wear a wig or turban/scarf.
- Use a soft-bristle brush and a gentle, pH-balanced shampoo.
- Don’t use hair dryers, hot rollers, or curling irons because they may damage your hair and make hair loss more severe.
- Don’t bleach or color your hair, and don’t get a permanent. All of these make your hair brittle and may cause your hair to fall out faster.
- Sleep on a satin pillowcase to decrease friction.
Avastin For Ovarian Cancer
Avastin is FDA-approved to treat cancer in your ovaries, fallopian tubes, or peritoneum . Its important to note that certain cancers in the fallopian tubes and peritoneum can be so similar to ovarian cancer that theyre sometimes labeled as ovarian cancer.
For this use, Avastin is used in the following situations:
- Stage three and stage four cancer. In these stages, the cancer has spread from the area where it started to other parts of your body. For this use, Avastin is given after the cancer has already been treated with surgery. At the start of treatment, Avastin is used with two chemotherapy drugs called carboplatin and paclitaxel . After a period of time, Avastin is used on its own.
- Recurrent cancer thats resistant to certain treatments made with platinum. With recurrent cancer, the cancer responded to past treatment, but it has come back after a period of time. With resistance, the cancer no longer responds to certain treatments. For this use, Avastin is given to people who used up to two chemotherapy drugs in the past. And Avastin is used in combination with certain other drugs. For example, its given with paclitaxel, topotecan , or liposomal doxorubicin .
- Recurrent cancer that responds to certain treatments made with platinum. For this use, Avastin is given in combination with certain chemotherapy drugs. For example, its given with either both carboplatin and gemcitabine or both carboplatin and paclitaxel. After a period of time, Avastin is used on its own.
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My Doctor Recommends Avastin To Treat My Wet Amd What Side Effects Are Related To Eye Injections Of Avastin
Avastin is sometimes used off-label to treat wet age-related macular degeneration . Off-label use refers to using a medication for a purpose that hasnt been approved by the Food and Drug Administration . Although not approved for wet AMD, Avastin can be effective for helping to prevent loss of vision due to this condition.
To treat wet AMD, a healthcare professional injects Avastin into your eye. Theyll numb your eye first. According to the American Academy of Opthalmology, eye injections of Avastin may cause the following mild side effects:
- blurry vision
Serious side effects of these eye injections may include:
- eye infection
- detached retina
- cataracts
To find out more about the possible side effects of Avastin when used for wet AMD, talk with your doctor.
Avastin For Liver Cancer
Avastin is FDA-approved to treat liver cancer thats either:
- unable to be treated with surgery, or
- metastatic
For this use, Avastin is given to people who havent taken a systemic treatment for their cancer. And its used in combination with a drug called atezolizumab .
Effectiveness for liver cancer
Avastin has been found effective for treating liver cancer. In fact, guidelines from the American Society of Clinical Oncology recommend Avastin in combination with atezolizumab as a first-line treatment option for liver cancer.
For results from clinical studies of people with liver cancer, see Avastins prescribing information.
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Effects On The Kidneys
This treatment can affect how your kidneys work. This is usually mild and goes back to normal after treatment finishes. You will have blood tests to check how well your kidneys are working. Tell your doctor or nurse if you have blood in your urine or you are passing urine less than usual.
It is important to drink at least 2 litres of non-alcoholic fluid each day to help protect your kidneys.
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WARNING: Please DO NOT STOP MEDICATIONS without first consulting a physician since doing so could be hazardous to your health.
DISCLAIMER: All material available on eHealthMe.com is for informational purposes only, and is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. All information is observation-only. Our phase IV clinical studies alone cannot establish cause-effect relationship. Different individuals may respond to medication in different ways. Every effort has been made to ensure that all information is accurate, up-to-date, and complete, but no guarantee is made to that effect. The use of the eHealthMe site and its content is at your own risk.
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Common Drug Side Effects
Bevacizumab Avastin disrupts cancers ability to form new blood vessels. Fewer than half of women treated with Avastin experience hypertension, headache, fatigue or weakness, diarrhea, nausea, belly pain or anemia.
Carboplatin A platinum chemotherapy drug that is often used to treat advanced ovarian cancer. Carboplatin damages DNA to kill cancer cells. More than half of women treated with carboplatin experience nausea, vomiting, anemia or reduced levels of neutrophils, platelets or white blood cells.
Gemcitabine This chemotherapy drug prevents cell division. More than half of women treated with Gemzar experience vomiting, reduced neutrophils or anemia. Fewer than half experience fever or rash.
Liposomal Doxorubicin Doxil inhibits DNA synthesis and RNA transcription. More than half of women treated with Doxil experience hand-foot syndrome . Fewer than half experience mouth sores, fatigue and weakness, vomiting, anemia or reduced neutrophils or white blood cells.
Niraparib Zejula is also a PARP inhibitor. More than half of women treated with Zejula experience fatigue and weakness, nausea, anemia or reduced platelets. Fewer than half experience abdominal pain, constipation, vomiting or reduced neutrophils.
Rucaparib Rubraca is also a PARP inhibitor. More than half of women treated with Rubraca experience fatigue and weakness or nausea. Fewer than half experience taste changes, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea or vomiting.
Is Avastin Used For Glioblastoma
Avastin is used to treat glioblastoma in adults, as well as other conditions. To learn about how its used for glioblastoma, keep reading. To learn about the other conditions Avastin is used to treat, see the Is Avastin used for other conditions? section just below.
Glioblastoma is a type of fast-growing brain cancer. It can affect the brain and the spinal cord. Glioblastoma can cause symptoms such as headache, sleepiness, memory loss, and personality changes.
Avastin is used to treat recurrent glioblastoma. Recurrent means the cancer has come back after responding to treatments in the past.
In addition to treating glioblastoma, which is described directly above, Avastin is also used for other types of cancer.
Specifically, Avastin is used to treat the following cancers in adults:
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Is Avastin A Type Of Immunotherapy
Yes, Avastin is a type of immunotherapy drug. Immunotherapy is a broad category of cancer medications. These drugs enhance your immune systems ability to recognize and fight cancer cells.
Avastin is specifically known as an anti-angiogenic drug. Angiogenesis is the formation of new blood vessels. Blood vessels carry blood, oxygen, and nutrients throughout the body. Avastin stops tumors from creating new blood vessels, which helps prevent blood from reaching the tumors. This helps slow the tumors growth.
If you have additional questions about Avastin and immunotherapy, talk with your doctor.
Learn more about some of the side effects that Avastin may cause.
Managing Your Hair Loss
Losing your hair can cause more than a change in your physical appearance. It can be an emotional challenge that affects your self-image and quality of life. It is important to be kind to yourself during this stressful time.
People cope with hair loss in different ways. Thinking about how you feel most comfortable in managing hair loss before, during, and after treatment may help. And, your choices may change over time.
Cold cap therapy
Wearing a cap that cools the scalp can help prevent hair loss from drugs given through a vein. This treatment is called scalp cryotherapy. You wear the cap before, during, and after chemotherapy.
The cold makes the blood vessels in the skin of your head narrower. Less blood and less of the chemotherapy drug reaches your hair follicles through the blood vessels. Keeping your scalp very cold also helps prevent damage to the hair follicles. Talk with your health care team to learn if cold cap therapy is available and might work for you.
Medications
An over-the-counter medication called minoxidil may help thinning hair from hormonal therapy or targeted therapy. It may also help if your hair does not grow back completely after chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or a stem cell/bone marrow transplant.
There are also other medications you can take by mouth. These include spironolactone and finasteride .
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Can Avastin Cause Injection Site Reactions
No, Avastin doesnt typically cause injection site reactions. These are reactions that develop in the area where a medication is injected. They can happen with injections given under the skin or into a muscle.
Avastin is given by IV infusion, which is an injection into a vein thats given over a period of time. Although it doesnt cause injection site reactions, Avastin may cause infusion-related reactions. These reactions can result in widespread symptoms throughout the body. They may even be severe enough to require immediate treatment.
To read more about infusion-related reactions with Avastin, see Side effects explained below.
Learn more about some of the side effects Avastin may cause.
What If I Miss A Dose
If you miss an appointment for one of your Avastin doses, call your doctors office right away. The medical staff can help you reschedule your appointment to receive your dose of the drug.
To help make sure that you dont miss appointments for your doses, try setting a reminder on your phone for your appointment.
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Breast Cancer Awareness Month Ending But The Fight Goes On At New Image Hair Clinic
Proactively deal with chemotherapy induced hair loss at New Image Hair Clinic.
PITTSBURGH, Oct 26, 2012 Breast Cancer Awareness Month may be coming to an end, but the struggle for a cure and the incredible compassion shown to those affected should not. With thousands of additional diagnoses each month, New Image Hair Clinic wants to keep breast cancer in the public consciousness. One way they hope to help is by identify drugs that cause the most identifiable side-effect: hair loss. Armed with this knowledge, patients can proactively prepare for losing their hair with a complimentary consultation at New Image Hair Clinic.
Because chemotherapy drugs target rapidly reproducing cells in the body hair follicles are commonly affected, resulting in thinning hair or hair loss. Losing your hair can be a difficult situation to deal with alone, but New Image is here to help. Here are a few common drugs that could potentially be used in a chemotherapy regimen:
Side Effects Not Requiring Immediate Medical Attention
Some side effects of bevacizumab may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects.
Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:
More common
- change in taste or bad unusual or unpleasant taste
- change in walking and balance
- clumsiness or unsteadiness
- hair loss or thinning of hair
- stomach discomfort or upset
Applies to bevacizumab: intravenous solution
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What Is The Most Important Information I Should Know About Avastin
You may not be able to use use bevacizumab if you are allergic to it, or:
- if you have slow healing of a skin wound or surgical incision
- if you have had surgery within the past 4 weeks
- if you have recently been coughing up blood or
- if you plan to have surgery within the next 4 weeks .
Tell your doctor if you have ever had:
- heart disease, high blood pressure
- a heart attack, stroke, or blood clots
- a bleeding or blood-clotting disorder or
- stomach or intestinal bleeding, or perforation in your esophagus, stomach, or intestines.
Bevacizumab may harm an unborn baby. Use effective birth control to prevent pregnancy while you are using this medicine and for at least 6 months after your last dose. Tell your doctor if you become pregnant.
Bevacizumab may cause a woman’s ovaries to stop working correctly. Symptoms of ovarian failure include 3 or more missed menstrual periods in a row. This may affect your fertility . Talk to your doctor about your specific risks.
Do not breastfeed while using this medicine, and for at least 6 months after your last dose.