This is the third time I have had the privilege of running the Falmouth Road Race for Dana Farber.
The last time I ran was in 2019, to support the care of children with graft versus host disease. This year, we are running to increase awareness and improve care for children who experience hair loss during and after cancer treatment.
You may know that most people who get chemotherapy or radiation lose their hair during treatment. Unfortunately, we haven't figured out a good way to prevent hair loss especially in children. Imagine how this can impact a child's self esteem and social life! Wigs can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars and are often not covered by insurance.
About 15% of cancer patients continue to have hair thinning or bald patches after they are done with cancer treatment. Many people don't know that there are treatments for this kind of hair loss and think that they just need to live with it. We need to work on teaching patients and doctors how to recognize and treat persistent hair loss in cancer survivors.
The funds we raise will go towards creating educational materials on hair loss for patients and doctors, and covering treatment for hair loss that patients cannot afford. Thank you for your help!
