Comment by Andrea on December 14, 2009 at 10:20am

In defense of physicians, our bodies are fearfully and wonderfully made. Practicing medicine is an art, not a science. There is a lot of trial and error involved. Much of it is still a mystery. It is the good doctor who will confess that they don't know! In medical school there is one semester dedicated to neurology because the nervous system is so complex.

Side effects are judged by the severity of the side effect in relation to the benefit achieved. Technically speaking, ALL drugs are chemotherapy (it just means chemical therapy). That being said, speaking of chemotherapy as we commonly think of it, some but not all cancer drug deliveries cause partial or total hair loss. However, the benefit is living. Hair loss, in the scheme of things, is not deadly or even dangerous. Other than the emotional aspect (I'm not discounting that), it's not really intrusive in our lives. Side effects they worry about are those that could alter our health and/or cost us our lives (effects on your internal organs). In truth, if a doctor said to me right now "I know how to cure you, but it will cost you your hair," I would take it.

We all reach a level of desperation for relief that we are willing to try something bold. The woman with the issue of blood in the gospel reached that level. The story doesn't make much sense if you don't know the Old Testament and what her condition meant to her socially. She'd been menstrually bleeding for 12 years. She was ceremonially unclean. This meant she could not enter the city walls...she could not live with her family...she could not go to the temple and worship. Anyone who touched her would be defiled and unclean for 8 days. She had to shout "unclean!" if anyone came close to her so they didn't accidentally touch her. She experienced no human closeness for 12 years! She was desperate! When Christ came to Jerusalem she entered the city, pushing her way through the crowd, defiling people as she went. Had anyone known what she was doing, it would have cost her her life...they would have stoned her to death. But she just needed to reach out and touch the hem of His garment...it was bold!

The question we need to ask ourselves when we embark on any treatment is are we willing to pay the cost to receive our healing? Sadly, you didn't know pre-emptively that alopecia was a possible side effect. I closely read all the info I get with every drug but a trial drug won't have full data. Trial means it has been through the 7 year process from the FDA to determine it's generally "safe" to begin administering to humans, but still in research mode. On the other hand, your experience can provide valueable information in the clinical trials.

I guess we all need to ask ourselves "How desperate am I?"

Comment by Lori M on January 9, 2010 at 12:30pm

Don't get me started on the medical community....... morons..... I had previous experience with the medical field that leaves me with a bad taste in my mouth. I was in the hospital 5 years ago.. They sent me home with morphine because they couldn't figure out what was going on..... Ten days later I perforated.... Sorry not much hope in the medical field at all..

You won't hear too much good from me about them. Well mind you though the surgeon that saved my life I have a lot of respect for but the other 10 doctors...none...

Side effects are nasty.... I am the type of person who will get the weirdest side effects from drugs. Doctors will say "no that side effect has never been seen before". But when they go and look up their little blue book of drugs sure enough there is the side effect. Just because they haven't seen the side effect before doesn't mean it is there. Your Alopecia could definitely have been caused by a drug...

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