Nearly one year on from learning that she had breast cancer, singer and actress Bernie Nolan is now well on the way to recovery. She recently showed off a new head of healthy-looking hair, after losing it all during chemotherapy treatment.
Nolan, who is best known as the lead vocalist of The Nolans and also for her role as Diane Murray in Brookside, was diagnosed with cancer in April 2010. The 51-year-old underwent a gruelling course of chemotherapy and had a mastectomy, finally declaring in October 2010 that she was cancer-free.
After losing patches of hair during chemotherapy, Nolan made the brave decision to shave her head. Speaking of this moment, she said:
“I thought, “Get rid of it – I’m in charge of this disease, it’s not in charge of me.”‘
The Popstar to Operastar runner-up was spotted just a few months ago with the first signs of hair regrowth on her scalp, and now has grown a thick crop of healthy blonde hair. She looks healthier than ever, and has gone back to work promoting her new book ‘Survivors: Our Story – From Us to You With Love’ alongside her supportive sisters.
Last Sunday’s final of Dancing On Ice was won in spectacular style by EastEnders’ actor Sam Attwater, but it was Australian judge Jason Gardiner who was the talk of the evening.
Gardiner, 39, is best known for his acid-tongued criticism and occasionally offensive remarks as a judge on the Dancing On Ice panel, as well as wearing a hat or a cap nearly all of the time.
However, the judge was so impressed by contestant Laura Hamilton’s performance during the finale that he raised his hat to her, revealing in the process the impressive results of his hair transplant.
After years of torment after losing his hair, Gardiner made the decision to undergo a hair transplant procedure costing around £12,000. Specialist doctors transplanted over 3,000 follicles from a donor area at the back of his head to the top, front and sides.
Gardiner has now spoken out about what it felt like to be plagued by baldness all those years, saying:
“I went through self-doubt, depression and self-loathing. I was ashamed of myself. I couldn’t be intimate with people. It was suffocating me.”
“It was important for me to get this [the transplant] done. I feel so great about how this looks.”
The mother of a boy with alopecia universalis is on a mission to raise awareness of the condition, even going so far as shaving her head in a fundraising effort.
Daniel Jones, who is now seven, started to lose his hair around two years ago. Doctors believed the hair loss condition was triggered by the stress and emotional upheaval of Daniel’s grandfather passing away and his grandmother having a heart attack. The two incidents occurred within just two months of each other, which must have put a big strain on the Jones family.
Daniel has now come to terms with his distressing condition, and his mother Kellie is on a campaign to raise awareness and support for people like him who have alopecia. Speaking to the local newspaper, the 32-year-old said:
“My son was very close to my dad and is to my mum. He developed a couple of round bald patches at the back of his head so he was referred to a dermatologist who said it was alopecia.
“But while waiting for his next appointment, Daniel’s hair rapidly fell out including his eyebrows and eyelashes. The consultant said he had alopecia universalis and his hair wouldn’t grow back.”
Alopecia universalis is a condition in which the sufferer loses all hair all over the body.
Several advice centres have been set up in North Wales for patients who are suffering hair loss as a result of cancer treatment. While the cancer itself is clearly the primary concern in these situations, the mental effects of hair loss should not be underestimated. In an already traumatic time, problems can be compounded with many people’s confidence badly affected.
The advice centres will make use of volunteers, including former patients.
Linda McCarthy, head of Breast Cancer Care Cymru, said:
“For many women, the thought of losing their hair can be worse than the idea of having surgery.
“Hair loss can make people feel very vulnerable, so it’s wonderful to be able to offer a service that can help boost confidence and make women feel better about how they look.”
One volunteer, Iona Roberts, describes how losing her hair during breast cancer treatment made her fear that she would frighten her grandson. She wore a wig until her hair regrew, but there are many other ways of managing hair loss these days.
The Intralace System is popular as it allows for the creation of a full head of hair via as little as 1.5 inches of regrowth.
The internationally famous pop star Lady Gaga has admitted that years of bleaching and dyeing her locks has caused her to suffer hair loss.
Gaga, whose real name is Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, is believed to be a natural brunette. However, in order to keep up her controversial, creative and experimental image, the pop star has dyed and bleached her hair every colour under the sun.
According to an interview in People magazine, Gaga’s passion for colour is taking its toll on her hair. She reportedly said that she had to “get a chemical haircut because my blonde hair is falling out.”
Hair can withstand only so much, and can begin to break, become brittle and even fall out if it is subjected to excessive chemical treatments or heat. This kind of hair loss is only temporary, but the hair and hair follicles will require a decent amount of time in which to recover.
Whilst the hair rejuvenates itself, most people with this kind of hair loss choose to cover or disguise the affected areas with hair replacement solutions such as human hair wigs or natural, super-fine hair extensions.
Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust have received a generous donation of two new innovative machines designed to prevent hair loss during chemotherapy treatment.
The Orbis Paxman machines have been donated by inspiration breast cancer charity Walk the Walk. They are portable, so can be used at both Barnet Hospital and Chase Farm Hospital.
The devices work by cooling the scalp and head before, during and after chemotherapy treatment. By lowering the temperature of the scalp, the hair follicles shrink and subsequently limit the effect of chemotherapy on hair. This can prevent or at least limit the kind of profuse hair loss usually caused by chemotherapy treatment.
Nina Barough, who is the founder and head of Walk the Walk, said:
“I know personally how much integrated care helped me on my journey through breast cancer so I am delighted that Walk the Walk has made this very special donation to Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital.
“It is extra special to be able to see our fundraising efforts go to such a worthwhile cause within our local area and I know women are going to benefit from the scalp cooling treatment.”
For many female hair loss sufferers, advice and support from others with similar conditions can be an essential lifeline. Simply by talking about your feelings and concerns in relation to your hair loss can really help to relieve your anxiety, so you can stop hiding away and go out there and live your life.
One valuable support network for women with hair loss is Bald Girls Do Lunch, a non-profit organisation set up in 2007. Although it mainly operates in the US, holding events and bringing women with alopecia together, the organisation offers advice, medical information and support to people with hair loss worldwide via its website.
The founder of the organisation, Thea Chassin, has had alopecia areata universalis for many years after the condition showed itself in 1997. Thea recently spoke to a publication in Pasa Robles in California, where Bald Girls Do Lunch is due to visit in the next few weeks. She said:
“It cannot be overstated how valuable it is for women who may feel secretive and ashamed about having alopecia areata to finally meet others like themselves,”
“We encourage lifestyle options of all types, so women come to our events with hats, scarves or rocking their bald look. The Bald Girls Do Lunch network is the remedy for feeling alone with this condition.”
A recent survey has found that British men worry more about losing their hair than they do about bankruptcy. They are also 20 per cent more likely to worry about it than they are about finding a long-term partner.
In all, 2,000 people were questioned on the subject of hair loss and there were a number of other findings. Around two thirds of men thought a full head of hair made them look more attractive and a quarter thought that losing their hair would affect their career.
Men in Wales were most worried about the prospect of losing their hair, while those in the East Midlands were least troubled by the thought of it happening to them.
The chairman of the Institute of Trichologists, Marilyn Sherlock, said:
“I don’t think it is surprising, in this day and age, how much emphasis men place on having great hair. Experiencing some hair loss is a fact of life for a vast majority of men with research showing that 8 million men in the UK currently suffer from hair loss and 40% of men under 35 are already losing their hair.”
Almost a quarter of the men questioned in the survey said that the reason they don’t seek help or advice about hair loss is because they don’t believe that treatments work, which may reflect a lack of knowledge of the many differing approaches that are available nowadays.
Two sisters from Peekskill in the US state of New York have scored an online hit with a video they made and posted on YouTube to raise awareness of the hair loss condition alopecia.
The sisters, Caitlin, 21, and Lauren Brady, 26, were inspired to make the video after seeing Miss Delaware Kayla Martell place in the top ten in the Miss America 2011 beauty pageant. Martell, who has alopecia like the Brady sisters, later appeared on an early morning talk show and took her wig off. Lauren says of watching this moment:
“We were jumping up and down like kids,”
“It was so uplifting to see.”
Lauren and Caitlin then made their video, a two minute piece called This is Me, and posted it on video sharing website YouTube. In the video, they expose their bald heads and feature positive messages from all kinds of different people on the wider issues of self-image and self-confidence. Overall, the video focuses on addressing insecurities and educating about alopecia.
Lauren says:
“Everyone faces something hard every day that they are uncomfortable with, so we wanted to make the video bigger and show we go through the same thing as everyone else,”
Since the Brady sisters posted the video on February 13th, it has received over 3,000 hits.
Swedish actress Malin Akerman has shaved her eyebrows and part of her head to play a character with alopecia universalis in new film happythankyoumoreplease, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last year.
The film is directed by and stars Josh Radnor, who is most famous for his leading role in TV series How I Met Your Mother. In an interview with Filmmaker, Radnor explains how Akerman shaved off her eyebrows and the sides of her head to play Annie, a character with alopecia universalis. This is a hair loss condition which causes the total loss of hair all over the body.
In the film, Annie is a strong, intelligent woman trying to come to terms with her female hair loss condition and overcome her problems with commitment and self-image. Radnor says he based this character on a real-life friend of his who has alopecia, describing her as “hilarious and wise and wonderful, so I wanted to base a character on her”.
Explaining what it was like to play an alopecia sufferer on camera, Akerman said:
“Shaving off the eyebrows and wearing a bald cap was kind of freeing. It was the first time I looked in the mirror and saw somebody else. I felt like Annie became more of an interesting person because of her alopecia. It was more about finding that character than even the lack of hair”.
