How Not To Loose Your Hair Before and During Chemo
Hair loss is one of the most obvious side effects of cancer treatment. Now, a growing number of breast cancer patients are freezing their scalps as a way to preserve their hair during chemotherapy.
The hair-saving treatment, widely used in Europe, requires a specialized frozen cap worn tightly on the head before, during and for a couple hours after a chemotherapy session.
The method can be time consuming, expensive and uncomfortable, but numerous women swear by the results.
After learning that she had early-stage breast cancer, Ms. Bruno a breast cancer patient said she worried about her health – and losing her hair.
“Knowing I was going
to lose my hair was an awful thing for me,” Ms. Bruno said. “I was
really struggling with the fact that not only was I sick, but I was
going to have to look sick to myself and the rest of the world.”
Ms. Bruno learned of the cold-cap treatment through friends, and gained the support of her doctors. The hospital has made space for a special medical freezer that keeps the caps ready at the right temperature.
Another scalp cooling system, called the DigniCap, is less labor
intensive. It uses a small machine and tubes filled with a coolant to
chill the cap.
“One of the advantages is that you don’t walk around with people giving
you that ‘Oh, you’ve got cancer,’ look,” Ms. Brown said. “It’s nice to
be able to control who you tell and who knows.
It's not an easy experience though.
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