Actress Farrah Fawcett had one of the most iconic hairdos of the 1970s, so when she was faced with a shocking cancer diagnosis, losing her locks to chemotherapy was one of her biggest fears.
“Farrah was very concerned about losing her hair with all the cancer treatments,” says Fawcett’s longtime pal, Jan Alexander, in REELZ’s new Autopsy: Farrah Fawcett teaser.
“There was a time in her career that she cut her hair very short — the whiplash was severe. [Critics said] that she wasn’t pretty anymore. She sort of equated a lot of her movie status with her hair, as many people did,” continued Alexander.
Because of her fears of losing her hair, Fawcett’s doctors were careful to avoid chemotherapy when treating her cancer.
“I’ve worked with cancer patients that have told me that losing their hair is often harder than losing their breasts,” adds psychologist Dr. Linda Papadopoulos in the video. “Hair holds a very important social significance for most women. It denotes health and youth and vitality.”
“For Farrah Fawcett it was more than that, it was a big part of her identity so no wonder she goes out of her way to choose medications that will spare her hair,” says Papadopoulos.
As RadarOnline.com readers know, Farrah Fawcett died of a rare form of cancer in 2009, now REELZ is uncovering the truth behind her lifelong medical troubles.
Autopsy: Farrah Fawcett airs Sunday, March 11 at 8 ET / PT on REELZ.
