Hina Khan’s nails raise questions: Fashion statement or health concern?

Hina Khan often shares her struggles with chemotherapy and all the good and bad it brings on in her life. For those unaware, the actress received a stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis but bravely continues to post updates on her struggle on Instagram. She recently updated her Instagram Stories with a photo of her nails, displaying the discoloration that is a common side effect of chemotherapy.
“A lot of you asking about my nails, including some people in my building, I am not wearing any nail polish,” she tweeted in response to her followers. Haha. How can I pray while wearing nail art? Lagaao mere pyaare saathiyon thoda dimaag. [My dear friends, use your minds.]”

“Nail discoloration is one of the most common side effects of chemotherapy,” Hina Khan continued. My nails are now dry, brittle, and occasionally lift off the nail bed. However, Butttttt. The good aspect is that you know. This is all a transient situation. Additionally, keep in mind that we are mending.
Unfortunately, many people often have to suffer from a lot of side effects during cancer treatments, particularly chemotherapy, as fatigue and mouth ulcers, but one side effect that is particularly troublesome is nail damage. Nail changes are quite common with breast cancer treatment in particular with chemotherapy, tamoxifen, and the aromatase inhibitors. Two main types of things cancer patients experience-one is discoloration and the other are lines in their nails.

According to Dr. Sunny Garg, Program Clinical Director – Medical Oncology, Marengo Asia Hospitals Faridabad, “Discoloration starts at the nail bed, and depending on how much pigment you have in your skin nails can actually become very dark. Nails can become black. It’s nothing wrong with your nails. It’s just the way your body responds to chemotherapy. These changes will fade overtime. We have never seen them persist, nails can take a long time to grow out.”
Dr. Anil K V Minz, Sr. Consultant-Dermatology, Marengo Asia Hospitals, Faridabad says, “Chemotherapy can affect nails in several ways because it targets rapidly dividing cells, including those in the nail root. The effects vary depending on the specific drugs used, the duration of treatment.”
Toe nails can take upto a year to grow out. So just be really patient and be confident that these changes will go away but this is one of the side effects a lot of people don’t expect. Other type of change cancer patients can see are horizontal lines in the nails. Sometimes with each cycle of chemo patients may get rapid amount of nail growth. Then it slows down then with the next cycle another rapid period of nail growth. So patients can get these horizontal ridges in your nails. Patients can actually sometimes count the number of chemotherapy cycles they have had based on those ridges. those ridges will also grow out. Some patients tell their nails have become stronger during and stayed stronger after chemotherapy.

There is something that happens to rapidly dividing cells and just like hair texture can change. It seems like nails texture can change as well. So your nails may actually at the end of chemotherapy end up healthier and stronger than they were beforehand. Patients can also get vertical lines in their nails if nails become very dry. It is more seen with endocrine therapy that lowers estrogen in your body or blocks estrogen in your body so nail thinning is something that is found in people on endocrine. This does get better after endocrine therapy is stopped. But remember endocrine therapy is given for five to ten years.

How to cope with nail changes:

Refrain from professional manicures
Avoid keeping hands in water for a long time or having your nails in the dirt or dirty soapy water if you are doing dishes, so wearing gloves just makes a lot of sense.
Try to avoid nail polish remover with acetone
Another thing that is very healthy helpful is to keep your nails trimmed very short. It is one of the side effects of dosataxal and paclitaxel and even other chemotherapies that the nails can lift off the nail bed. So keep nails really short so nothing traumatizes them or jams into them.