Capox - cold socks and mittens for the oxaliplatin infusion

I am Sharon, one of the nurses on the Macmillan Cancer Support Line.

It is positive that you are trying to prepare as best you can for treatment and it is understandable that you want to avoid side effects as much as possible.

As you have found in your research, there is evidence that limb cooling can reduce the risk of peripheral neuropathy, although it can’t stop it completely.

Hand and feet cooling is not yet offered routinely. If you were to provide the mitts yourself, that may still pose a problem for some local hospitals, as it is not only the absence of equipment that is the problem, it is also the extra time needed to support this (and freezer space, as you have found already).

If your local hospital doesn’t have the equipment or the capacity to support your request, they should be able to refer you to a different hospital who can. Larger cancer centres may be more likely to support hand/foot cooling, as they have more of a focus on research and new technology. The major cancer centres in the UK are the Royal Marsden, the Christie, Barts, Cambridge University Hospital, University College Hospital and the Royal Surrey. Clatterbridge have been trialling cold hand and feet mitts since 2023.

Your consultant should be able to tell you which hospitals near you have the capacity to offer (or support) limb cooling. If not, there may be local options in the private sector (your consultant would still have to do a referral for you). There is likely to be a cost implication, but at least you would be reassured that it was being carried out at the correct temperature and with the correct standards in place.

We are here for you if you need a chat. As well as our support line, we have webchat, and a bowel cancer forum on our online community, where you can get support from people who are in a similar situation.

Sharon

Clinical Information Nurse Specialist

Ref; SA/AMc