Hi all I'm due to start adjuvant chemo next week after a double mastectomy with reconstruction..1 of my tumors was triple negative..I have opted to try the cold cap but everyone I seem to speak to including a nurse don't seem to think it's much use..I know there was a lady on here that blogged about her journey and seemed to have minimal loss but I just wondered if that is a rarity..anybody else's experience would be greatly appreciated.
This is so interesting and reassuring for someone possibly saving in to chemo and terrified of all of it including hair loss
may I ask were you recommended to leave your hair long before cold capping or crop it or neither?
slight topic change - nails…… I’ve heard that putting gels on protect them? Anyone try this?
Thankyou and well done you fabulous ladies
I have started with the cold cap and for me I’ll try anything I’ve only had 2 rounds out of 12 pax and hair is okay at the min.
I would suggest anyone to at least try it.
The first 10-15 is horrid but you soon get used to it
my hair is past my shoulders (about a third down my back) and I haven’t cut mine even though the BCN suggested that I do, one of the chemo nurses said leave it for now and then if you start seeing a change, then maybe act.
I used to have BIAB nails and I was advised to remove them due to infection rates. I think on MacMillan website it suggests nail varnish only but I can’t really remember now - sorry c22
xx
Hi Lloyds,
I would recommend cold cap because according to my opinion the cons are fewer or less important than the pros.
I must admit I hadn't checked the paxman website that gives you the possibility of hair retention according to your chemo regime. I just did it now being 2 months after my last treatment and it showed 46%. I have been incredibly lucky to have retained most of my hair, not needed wig or anything to camouflage it, apparently a bit against the odds.
I did cut it from shoulder length to short, just before it was expected to start shedding because I thought I would feel better to see smaller chunks coming off; obviously back then I couldn't know that the scalp cooling would be effective.
A few tips for making it more tolerable that my nurses told me: paracetamol 15' prior to putting it on, a headband for the forehead and be very careful about how it fits, it is usually the crown of the head that it doesn't make good contact with and sometimes you loose more hair from that area. Even though I kept pushing it in, I feel that I have been losing more hair from there.
Pain and discomfort are very subjective and each one's tolerance is different so you will probably hear many opinions from it being tolerable to being excruciating. Finding a distraction that you like may help, I used to do some online shopping or even online ''window'' shopping to distract myself.
I am still shedding a reasonable amount, but there has been definitely regrowth judging by my grey roots. I lost most of my eyelashes and eyebrows after my chemo sadly, but grateful for the fake eyelashes and microblading.
All the best with your treatment,
Best wishes,
Christina
Such a dilemma! And a very personal choice, I think. I opted not to cold cap. I've cut my long hair and will shave when the time comes. I just didn't want the fight to keep my hair, along with everything else.
In Dr Liz podcast re prepping for chemo, the experienced guest nurse said that that the only thing she'd noticed that seemed to provide some protection, anecdotally, was acrylic nails. I have gone with that. I've had some soreness of my nail beds, on hands and feet but I've used a natural calendula salve, rubbing it into my cuticles, which seems to have cleared that up.
https://youtu.be/25j_xZNzuUI?si=H0x3_vY5MZ9lXqOk
Let's see how I go, I'm only round#2 of 16.
hi there, Yes definitely worth it and even though I am coming to end of my chemo and shedding more it was so helpful to have my hair all through chemo. On hair it’s fine to keep it long the only thing is if it is very heavy might be harder when you lose hair. I would be wary of what some nurses say as I have found from comments many while well intended are not necessarily up to speed with all the right tips and tricks. Keeping it in a ponytail will help manage the shedding. And maybe worth considering the style now for when you are finished as you will have different lengths… typically a successful cold cap is where you keep 50%. That said you can also decide later as you might be someone who has very little shedding and it won’t be noticeable.
One other thing you can do beforehand re hair for brows is Microblading but has to be done a good few weeks before chemo. Worth it for loss of eyebrows. On nails I would say gel nails not the best but for taxol polybalm protects them.
Good luck!
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