I had my first treatment today. PHESGO and chemo. (For info, Docetaxel and Carboplatin). I decided, despite some advice about how awful it was, to give cold cap a go. I don’t know if it will work but I didn’t find it painful at all ! Hardly noticed the cold, though the cap itself is a bit uncomfortable. Because my drugs were late arriving, I had it on for 8 hours! I asked if it was actually working and it evidently was, as I had icicles in my hair on removal. It has to stay on for 90 mins after treatment . I didn’t find that too difficult, though because of the late treatment I was the last to leave along with the final nurse. Hope this helps someone else trying to decide after hearing some horror stories
So pleased your first treatment went well and you coped with cold cap.
As you are on Phesgo you may benefit from joining this popular thread.
Are you on the monthly chemo starters thread? You can support and get help from others having chemo at the same time as you. Here’s the link for Nov 2025
@ivy-cat - which chemo regimen did you have and how many cycles? Also, I just see organic shampoo and conditioner on the site - is this what you mean? Thanks for any info xx
If the cold cap is fitted correctly you shouldn’t need a swimming cap according to the Paxman website but I did find that not all of the health care assistants were as experienced as each other on fitting and tightening the elastic.
Agree, I successfully cold capped without using a swimming cap. My hair was dampened and covered in conditioner. I would highly recommend looking at the fitting on Paxman/Coldcap website so you know how it should be done. I had one person try and fit the cold cap with the outer neoprene cover at the same time, which is wrong. Also sometimes you may need different sizes of the cap and outer cover, if the sizes is not right that can also affect success.
Hi @naughty_boob - thanks. Went through my first session yesterday and the lovely male nurse was very good. I am using Daniel Fields products so did the prep myself, but then he took a lot of time finding the right fit for me. So we tried a medium and small inner cap, with small being too small and medium slightly loose, so he placed a small outer cap on top of the medium. when fitting both, he said ‘push against me as I push it on’…he was great and got a tight fit! I hope he is there next time!!!
That’s great. He was obviously very keen to get it right. I hope you are ok after your infusion, and if something doesn’t feel right, call your helpline for advice.
@naughty_boob - thanks so much. Yeah, so far, am okay. Felt like I had been hit by a truck on the morning after, but some steriods and food perked me up a bit. I made it outside for a 20-min walk and that was also nice xx
