Why do people lose their hair if they have cancer?

Is it because of the chemo or just because of the disease? And what does that actually do to make your hair fall out?

Hair loss occurs because chemotherapy targets all rapidly dividing cells鈥攈ealthy cells as well as cancer cells. Hair follicles, the structures in the skin filled with tiny blood vessels that make hair, are some of the fastest-growing cells in the body. If you're not in cancer treatment, your hair follicles divide every 23 to 72 hours. But as the chemo does its work against cancer cells, it also destroys hair cells. Within a few weeks of starting chemo, you may lose some or all of your hair.

It's the chemo-therapy.

I'm not exactly sure why it makes your hair fall out, but it just does.

it's part of a treatment called cemo.

The chemo, not sure how exactly, but Im sure that it is from the chemicals in it.

It's the chemo therapy that makes their hair fall out.

its the chemotherapy that makes the hair fall out, but not everyone loses their hair, i just finished chemo and radiation in dec. and i didn't lose my hair at all, although my hair did get finer (I've always had thick coarse hair) and it developed a wave on one side of my head

its not that they hav cancer its the chemo therapy.

Most, but not all, chemotherapy regimes cause hair loss. Some do not cause hair loss and some just cause hair thinning. Not all people with cancer have chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy targets rapidly dividing cells, into which category hair follicles fall.