hi ladies
I’m moving from surgery section to chemo now and looking for buddies starting October 1st. Had a WLE, then b/l MX (thanks to everybody at abbriviations thread) - now getting better a bit and waiting for chemo. A bit scared of uncertainty, but this website has been ever so useful, I’ve already got so many tips and ordered some hats and scarves online.
Though I’m going to try cold cap first - though I’m dreading cold. Don’t you get cold when wearing the cap? Isn’t it dangerous for catching cold or flu? Or I’m just being too ignorant?
Hope everybody is doing well!
Hi RedheadTato
Good luck with your chemo starting 1st Oct. I’m currently having taxotere and herceptin and have 2nd session out of 6 tomorrow, due to finish mid-Dec. I used the scalp cooler on my first session and can share the following with you:
yes it does feel cold at first and I got a headache, but then after a while the headache subsided (make sure that the tube feeding the cap is resting on something so your head isn’t taking the weight of it) and also the cold didn’t seem too bad. Having said that, you’ll be sitting with it on your head for several hours, so make sure you’ve a fleece and perhaps even a winter scarf that you can wind around your neck, cos the rest of you will get to feel cold even if the hospital is warm.
The other thing I experienced is that by the time the chemo and saline flush had finished going in I was absolutely busting for a wee. Luckily I was in a private cubicle and there was a comode so once I was dehooked from the drip I could hop across to the comode scalp cooler and all. Dread to think what would have happened otherwise, major flooding I think! So, make sure you go to the toilet before you start the chemo as it’s a lot of fluid going in, and if you’re on a day ward rather than as an inpatient (which I was) you’ll be in a room with lots of others and hopping off for a pee half way through probably wouldn’t be an option.
The worst thing for me about the scalp cooler was the fact that I was ready to leave psychologically once the chemo had finished, but still had to sit there for another two hours.
Another thing: scalp cooler is not equally effective with all chemos - though presumably you will have been told the success rate of the particular regime you’re on. With taxotere it’s supposed to be pretty effective. So far, at about the time that my hair would otherwise be starting to fall out, it’s still there even when I give it a good tug.
On balance, despite the cold and the inconvenience, the scalp cooler has to be worth a shot, doesn’t it, if there’s a chance that you won’t lose your hair. I lost my hair five years ago with chemo for my primary BC and it was definitely one of the worst aspects of what I was going through.
You haven’t said what chemo regime you’re having, but I do hope it goes well and without too horrendous side effects.
Alison x
Hi Redhead Tato,
1st of all I wish you the best of luck with your chemo & hope you don’t get too many nasty side effects. What regime are you having?
I’m on the tact 2 trail and have recently completed 4 cycles of epi (which was yuk)! and 1 cycle of xeloda. I used the paxman cold cap throughout my 1st 4 cycles (don’t need it with xeloda) & would recommend it to anyone. Especially people like me who found the thought of losing my hair the most difiicult thing to cope with in all of this. Although it has thinned considerably (it was very thick & quite long before chemo) I have been lucky enough to keep a reasonable amount of it. People that don’t know me very well can’t see the difference.
It is very cold when it first goes on but you soon get used to it and it also makes your time in the unit much longer. However, I personally think these things are a small price to pay to keep your hair. At the end of the day, it’s down to personal choice. You could always give it a go for your 1st treatment. There is no risk of catching colds & flu as far as I know but ask the nurses when you go for your treatment if you feel worried
Whatever you decide, I sincerely hope it goes well for you. Hang on in there, before you know it you’ll be halfway through, then you’ll be at the end. There really is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Keep smiling
Carol X
PS Alison is right about needing to go to the loo but you can be disconnected from the freezer unit with your cap still in place and the temp will stay constant for up to 10 mins. Hope this helps