Will Radiation Make My Hair Fall Out?

— -- Question: Will radiation therapy for breast cancer make my hair fall out?

Answer: When we give radiation for breast cancer, we're treating the breast, and in some cases, the draining lymph node areas so that the hair on a patient's head, on your head, would not come out. If women have some hair in their armpit area, that hair may be temporarily lost. But I haven't had a patient complain about that, ever. But in terms of hair loss on the head, these treatments are not associated with this important type of hair loss.

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