Cold Cap Help?

Hi Amelie

i finished 6 cycles of TCHP 4 weeks ago and have so far kept about 80% of my hair, it has thinned a bit especially at the sides but not so anyone would really notice. At times it felt like I was loosing a lot of hair but I think it looked worse than it actually was. I didn’t find the cold cap particularly uncomfortable but I do walk our dog in the cold wet weather and don’t mind the cold. I was careful about showering and hair washing, I had warm instead of hot showers and washed hair twice a week. There is a paxman  site with loads of info on it.

best of luck.

Gillie

I didn’t cold cap FYI before I post. One of the main reasons I didn’t is that it increases the amount of time you’re in having treatment and I didn’t want that. Also I had a previous DCIS and ladies I met then told me they’d tried it and still lost their hair. Some keep lots, some still loose, I personally didn’t want to wake up each morning with hair on my pillow trying to save it. Some ladies get headaches with it, some don’t. I had EC-T, it fell out with the EC but started to grow back a little with the docetaxel. It’s such a personal decision and you’ve got to do what’s right for you x 

Hi Gilliebean that was really helpful for me to look at the Paxman site, thank you 

Hi Anna12345 helpful thank you x

I’ve just finished 12 weekly paclitaxel with carboplatin every 3rd week and I cold capped. I’ve kept about 70% of my hair and many wouldn’t know I have thin patches, I wear a hair band to cover the top of my head. Starting EC in 2 weeks so know I may well lose what I’ve saved but will cold cap as there is some evidence it aids regrowth. There is an excellent paxman scalp cooling Facebook group which I wish I’d found before I started chemo. Lots of tips and of course you can ask questions too. The cons are the extra time spent in the chemo suite but I don’t mind, once I’m there I know I’m captive for 4/5 hours. As for discomfort, I take 2 paracetamol before I leave home and it’s really ok, the first 15 minutes are the hardest but it soon settles down. Best of luck xx

Thank you especially for the Facebook group details really helpful. Well done you sounds highly successful X

Dear Amelie11,

I had 16 sessions of chemo over 4 monthly and 12 weekly sessions of EC and pacitaxal and I DID use the cold cap.

I didn’t loose all my hair ,maybe 40 percent Which I then cut short .The big benefit I found was just before I finished the hair started sprouting back really quickly and this was due to the cold cap.

For me, the cold cap helped me because I didn’t loose all my hair and I believe it helped with the re growth.

some tips that I picked up from the macmilan forum which proved really useful where these.

1 .I brought a headband that I put on the skin of my forehead which stopped it getting cold.

2. I brought ear muffs which just covered each individual ear , from Amazon , great !

After 10 minutes you didn’t feel it.

Hope this helps 

good luck 

Thanks I had my first TCHP chemo on Weds with the Paxman cap I used a headband but earmuffs are a great idea too. I found it fine too.

 Thanks for telling me your story that gives me lots of hope with my hair journey. X

Amelie11 , glad you did it and the ear muffs are so good.They are just two ear coverings .

Take one step at a time and it will soon be over. i have has 2 operations, chemo and radiotherapy and now waiting for my results of scan and mammogram to see if all ok.

Good luck again and keep us posted. 

Thanks and to you too