'Cold cap'

Afternoon,

I was diagnosed last November with Secondary Breast Cancer & I've had 5 cycles of chemotherapy & immunotherapy. I am now due my lumpectomy in 10 days time!!

I did try the cold cap,I personally made the decision the discomfort wasn't worth going through. Just felt I had enough to deal with & I needed to deal with the treatment & the side effects that came with it. I've always loved doing my hair, but looking at the bigger picture my hair didn't seem the most important part for me!! We are all different.

Wish you well,

Love Liz xx

Hi

Warm welcome hope you are recovering well from surgery and not finding the exercises too painful :-/

If you type cold cap into the groups search bar it will bring up the messages that mention it, but for a whole shedload of topics covering this you could type the same into the search bar in the Main Breast Group you joined. It is much more active and most who are TN have also joined both groups as the treatments are basically the same   There is also a regular monthly chemo discussion in the main group too.

Those who have used the cold cap have varying success as it depends on the type of chemo being given, how well the cap fits (very snugly) At a guess, average hairloss with the cap is around 40% but unfortunately can be more and several have tried it and given up midway

Hope this is of some help for now, G n' J

I used the  cold cap throughout the 11 chemo sessions I had. Our unit had 2 machines,  and one wasn't cold enough,  so I lost a quite  bit of hair on that one,  but a lot less on the one which worked (it should feel really cold for thr first 5 minutes or so, and thr inert cap should go frosty). My hair grew back on Paclitaxel using the cold cap with either machine. Taking a painkiller about an hour before (I did it on the way to the hospital) really helps.

If you are interested I'd check that your unit are using them during the  pandemic though,  as it means longer sessions in hospital ( it adds 30 minutes before the start of chemo and about an hour after).

I am currently on EC and due my #3 cycle on thurs. I use the cold cap and was surprised as it wasn’t as bad as people have said. It’s cold and tight but bearable. On day 20 of each cycle I have lost like over a hairbrush full and daily I lose more than normal. I feel I’m a little thinner on top but my hair still looks the same to my husband and daughter. I’m expecting to go thinner but hope that’s it. My chemo nurse said it is 80% effective but thinning should be expected. 
good luck 

Hi, I was diagnosed with TNBC in August 2019. I finished my chemo a couple of weeks ago after having been prescribed 4 EC and 12 Paclitaxel (although the last two Paclitaxel were cancelled as I was diagnosed with Covid so it was thought it would be safer to not have the last 2). I had further surgery on Thursday and all being well will be starting radiotherapy in a few weeks.

I know some people don't share my thoughts but for me I could put up with any treatment however the thought of losing my hair was the most distressing part of it all. Everyone is different I guess... I decided to use the cold cap and did so on 5 chemo sessions. I found it to be painful and uncomfortable but worth it if it allowed me to retain my hair, however on the 3rd occasion the nurse accidentally switched it off not long after the chemo had started. I noticed it was not as cold as it should have been and called the nurse who checked and confirmed what had happened, by this time 3 syringes of EC chemo had been administered. The nurse was really upset and I was inconsolable... They said my hair would most likely fall out. It started to come out in clumps about 2 weeks later so with great sadness I decided to give up on the cold cap... I would however have tolerated the pain to keep some of my hair and I would say to anyone to go for it if you can. I now have hardly any hair and cant wait for it to start to grow back. Good luck with your treatment and definitely give the cold cap a go.