Hair. We style it. We shave it. We wax it. We colour it. We admire it. We fret over it. And in 2016 we spent about $83 billion USD globally on products for it – a number that doesn't even include hair-related service industries.
Why are these tiny follicles so important to so many of us, both personally and culturally? American poet Diane Ackerman has written that hair is "symbolic of life... [It] bolts from our head[s]. Like the earth, it can be harvested, but it will rise again. We can change its color and texture when the mood strikes us, but in time it will return to its original form, just as Nature will in time turn our precisely laid-out cities into a weed-way."
But what if it doesn't return to its original form? What if it fails to rise again? What if it doesn't return at all? These are questions some victims of the drug Taxotere have had to ask themselves as they find themselves facing a future with alopecia – complete and permanent hair loss.
Cancer Treatment and Hair Loss
For many cancer patients who undergo chemotherapy, hair loss is an unfortunate but temporary side effect of their treatment. Chemotherapy drugs, including cytotoxic agents such as Taxotere (docetaxel), target malignant cancer cells that are quickly reproducing. By interrupting the cell cycle, these drugs can slow and stop malignant growth.
Chemotherapy drugs are often used in combination, and certain patients receiving identical treatments may respond quite differently to these drugs. However, there are certain common side-effects to treatments because they can also damage healthy cells – particularly cells which rapidly divide such as blood cells in bone marrow, cells lining the mouth, cells in the gastrointestinal tract, and hair follicles.
Hair loss, which can begin days or weeks into treatment, can be especially traumatic as it can be a very visible sign of the illness. As Dr. Marisa Weiss, chief medical officer and founder of Breastcancer.org explains: "There are studies that show that for many women, losing their hair is worse than losing a breast. That's because you can conceal the loss of a breast, but hair loss is so obvious and apparent."
Patients experiencing alopecia respond to this side effect in many ways. Some may opt to wear wigs or head coverings to disguise the loss, while others display their baldness and hair loss openly. It has also become common for family members or friends to shave their heads in support of a loved one experiencing this side effect. However these patients deal with this side effect, the vast majority will take comfort in knowing that the situation is temporary and regrowth usually occurs within six months.
Taxotere and Permanent Hair Loss
The makers of Taxotere listed hair loss as a potential side effect of the drug, and some studies have found that about 75 per cent of people taking Taxotere as part of a combination chemotherapy do experience it to a degree. However, some patients discovered their hair loss was permanent – a risk that Taxotere's makers failed to adequately advertise to users.
Permanent hair loss from chemotherapy drugs is fairly rare, but it appears to be far more common with treatments which include Taxotere. Sanofi, the drug's maker, has publicly estimated about three per cent of patients taking Taxotere may experience long-term hair loss. But other recent studies have put the figure as high as 15.8 per cent.
Although Taxotere is known to be an effective drug in its class for treating some types of cancers, there are other less potent variants such as Taxol (pacitxel) that are known to be just as effective without presenting such a significant risk of permanent hair loss. With other potentially less harmful alternatives to choose from, cancer patients who were given Taxotere without being made fully aware of its risks were denied their right to make an informed choice about their health care.
What Can You Do?
Communities and support groups for people with alopecia, both genetic and acquired, have grown to help people who struggle with the depression, social anxiety, paranoia and difficulties with personal and professional relationships that can result from having this condition in a world where hair can be so important to a person's identity. And truthfully, we should work to create a world where bald is always considered beautiful and one where there is no shame in being hairless.
But, there is shame in the way Sanofi has profited from its inadequate warnings and misleading advertising about Taxotere. Companies like Sanofi have a moral and legal obligation to treat consumers with respect, to provide them with safe products, and to educate them fully about any risk that may come along with taking their drugs.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
