Fear of baldness causes patients to refuse cancer treatment

Fear of losing hair or getting brittle and discoloured nails during anticancer therapy can make many patients refuse or postpone life-saving treatment, HealthDay reports, citing a new pilot study published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology.

The authors of the work note: many people exaggerate the likelihood of such side effects and because of this are even ready to abandon therapy. For example, 52% of respondents believe that cancer treatment necessarily leads to hair loss. At the same time, a third of respondents admitted that the fear of irreversible baldness can make them refuse treatment.

However, as the researchers emphasise, only about half of patients lose hair during classical chemotherapy, and less than 15% among those receiving targeted drugs.

"The results demonstrate how powerful the influence of fear and misunderstanding of the situation can be," explains Adam Friedman, lead author of the study and professor of dermatology at George Washington University. - Patients need to be better informed and supported to make informed decisions."

The survey included 77 people who attended two health fairs in a low-income neighbourhood in Washington, D.C. About 31% had been treated for cancer in the past. Only half of the former patients had needed help from a dermatologist about adverse reactions to treatment.

However, the fear of side effects was also strong among those who had never experienced cancer. Around a quarter of respondents admitted that they might refuse anti-cancer therapy for fear of temporarily losing eyebrows or eyelashes (27%) or getting a permanent change in nail colour (24%).

"Addressing this knowledge gap is critical, especially given that up to a third of respondents - including those already undergoing treatment - stated a hypothetical refusal due to dermatological complications," the researchers conclude.