I will be starting chemotherapy in late Nov / early Dec and will be trying to cold cap. I have really thick hair and know most get their hair cut short before starting. Question is - how short did everyone go? As my hair is so thick I am not really sure what to do with it.
Hi Brady,
That is good that your hair is thick, it will stand you in good stead for the Cold Cap. I already had short hair which was fairly thick and the cold cap treatment worked for me very well. I dont think you need to thin your hair out at all , just cut the length and you will be fine. It does get cold when the first cap goes on so take a scarf to wrap around your neck and a nice warm coat. I never needed to wear my wig or hat, but I used my new hat on the way home from Chemo to keep my head warm.
Good luck with it, let us klnow how you get on . Love Tracy
Hi Brady Just to second Tracy’s post. I had really long hair before chemo and cut it very short - I asked for an “Emma Watson” look at the hairdressers and I really liked it - it was very empowering! Thick hair is good - it will really help you with the cold cap treatment. I have had x3 FEC so far and had cold cap on first two cycles. A few tips for you : (1) take a warm fleece or blanket as it can be very cold for you - especially for the first 10 - 15 minutes. (2) Prepare yourself for extra time at the hospital. Not sure what regime you are on but at my hospital, the cold cap went on for half an hour first (before chemo drugs went in) and stayed on for 1 and a half hours after chemo drugs had finished - so it added an extra 2 hours to the time (the FEC took 45 minutes to go in). (3) My hospital asked me to bring in conditioner in a spray bottle mixed with a little bit of water which they spray on first - this apparently helps to keep the hair. (4)Make sure the nurse checks the cap fights properly and is nice and tight - if it is loose it doesn’t work. (5) Take paracetomol with you in case you have any pain from the cold cap. I had no hair loss first time round, but I don’t think it was fitted properly second time round, and by day 4 after the second dose of chemo I had really bad pain in my scalp (felt like someone tugging it) and handfuls started coming out. I lost a lot by the third one and the nurse said there was no point continuing as would be very painful. So not continuing with it. I am due to start 4th cycle (Taxotere) on Friday and still have some hair - although it looks a bit strange and is still falling out - my hair (what’s left) looks like a cross between a baby orangutan and Keith from the Prodigy in the Firestarter video. A most amusing look! But covers well with headscarves etc. And hasn’t scared the kids (too much!). Its not so bad - you do get used to it. And hopefully the cold cap will work well for you - my oncologist said its 70 - 30 and I fully expected to lose all my hair immediately and I still have had a fair bit until recently so it was worth it. Good luck with it - hope all goes well with both the cold cap and the chemo x
hi brady,
my hair was almost waist length but had cut to just above shoulders, when it was long it felt very fine but now it short and layered feels a lot thicker, had cold cap with my 1st treatment and now day 13 and still not loosing much more than usual, you will need hat or hoody to go home in as hair will be wet, as they wet your hair and then plaster in conditioner before cold cap goes on
hugs
suzee
I had my hair cut to shoulder length. Also used the cold cap but think I got a very inexperienced nurse who “faffed” about with the cap and I ended up losing most of my hair before the second chemo treatment. I didn’t bother with the cold cap after that. I shaved all my hair off before No.3 and wore a wig and was quite comfortable doing that.
I finished chemotherapy at the end of November 2011 and I have a good head of hair.
To be honest, I felt a great sense of relief once I had shave all my hair off and I did feel a little bit sorry for the ladies using the cold cap as they had to stay in hospital for at least 2 hours longer than I did when having chemo.
I had my hair cut to shoulder-length before I started cold-cap. The main thing to do is get it short-enough that it doesn’t tangle too much, so is easy to comb. I bought a very wide-toothed comb to reduce the amount I pulled my hair. The other thing is, I didn’t want to take My hair to the hair-dresser’s during chemo, as I felt that scalp massage they do would be just pulling all my hair out, so any cut you have now wants to last 4-5 months.
Cold cap worked well for me. My hair did thin, but I am only really noticing by how much now, as it starts to grow back. I didn’t have to do the thing with a bottle of conditioner, but do second the suggestion of a warm jumper/fleece blanket. YOu can lose alot of heat from your head.
Thankyou for all your replies - interesting to see a few people have kept shoulder length hair. That is what mine is now - with short layers. I know it is not the most important thing but after years of hating my thick hair I finally have a haircut I like… then I get told chemotherapy for me. I will obviously deal with it if hair all falls out but if I am going to try the cold cap I want to do it with a haircut that looks halfway decent to start with - otherwise it seems a bit pointless!
I think I’m obsessing about my hair to take my mind off my second WLE and the SNB I am having on wednesday…
My older sister has breast cancer too and hers has spread to her bones. I know we are different people but I’m terrified mine will have too. I know it is no guarantee but if my SNB came back clear I wold find it really encouraging. I will find out about the SNB same day as surgeon will use an OSNA machine to check it while doing my WLE - if it is affected he will clear the rest of the nodes. If not - he won’t. So if I wake up with a drain I know he has done the lot…
Hi Brady40
Good luck with everything. But just to let you know, when I had SNB I also had drains, so don’t assume that just because you have drains it is bad news, wait to talk with the surgeon.
I am also using the cold cap, but I have not been told to take any conditioner or anything. So far (just about to have cycle Three of Four EC, before I start on Taxol), my hair has thinned, but still looks OK. I can feel a real difference, but no one else can see any difference. I would suggest cutting back on the number of times you wash your hair, as that is when you put the most strain on it, but as I used to have to wash mine every other day as it is oily, I have found that the drying qualities of the chemo mean that I only have to wash it every five or six days.
Good luck with everything.
Hi Brady I am sorry to hear about your sister. Eveyone is different and I know it is hard but you are right and you have to try and think about yourself and not compare your case to your sister. Also don’t underestimate your own abilities aepnd strength of will. My sister was dx at age 27 with ovarian cancer and basically told she probably only had 6 months - she is still here fighting 10 years on and is my inspiraton. On the subject of families did you get referred to the genetics team? I am thinking of you and wishing all goes well with your snb etc tomorrow. Lots of people on the forums says chemo is doable. It is and it is hard but it is worth it - and I am sure your friends and family Are supporting you 100%. Good luck for tomorrow and sending you hugs x
Thanks Lizzlecat - good to know about the drains. What I said in my previous post is what the surgeon said but I guess they don’t really know until the time. I’m sure there will be someone on hand that I can ask but if it is anything like my last WLE I won’t have a blind clue what is going on when I first wake up!!
Glad your hair is hanging in there - just a little bit of normality in this sea of poo we find ourselves in! Thanks for the tip about hair washing - I have yet to meet an oncologist or chemotherapy nurse so not sure what my instructions will be. Seems to vary depending on where you go re conditioner etc.
Thanks Spookymoo - that is amazing about your sister, here’s hoping I can be sayng the same in ten years! Appreciate the hugs too xxx
Referral to the genetic clinic has been mentioned and my surgeon does like to drop statements like “…and maybe a bilateral mastectomy in the future…” as if it is just a throwaway comment that wouldn’t alarm me! I think what he means when he does this is that I should concentrate on my immediate treatment first. I have not actually been referred yet - they have said that it would need to be my GP that refers me.
To be completely honest - it is too much for me to deal with at the moment. Am already looking at surgery, IVF treatment, Chemo, radiotherapy and at least 2 years of Tamoxifen. Don’t know my HER2 status yet - so maybe Herceptin too! I’ve decided the genetic issue will have to wait a little while. I might not even get tested - I have not decided yet
I know I am high risk for a genetic mutation though - fraternal Grandmother had BC at 37, as has my big sister - and my dad died of liver cancer a year ago on 15th November. I would say there is some genetic link going on - even if it is not one of the “known” genes.
Well all the best from me for your op 2mora. I really hope that the Cold Cap works as well for you as it did for me. The only problem for me with the chemo was my veins so I took a hot water bottle in the car with me and gloves and scarf to keep myself warm. You may need to put your hand in a bucket of hot water if they cannot find a vein. Sending you lots of positive vibes. Tracy xxx
Thank you to everyone that sent positive thoughts my way - had my re-excision and SLNB yesterday and the biopsy came back clear so no lymph node involvement for me. So relieved and feel like we can get on with the IVF embryo freezing now without worrying about extra CT scans being needed etc.
Still feel a bit zonko today and finding it hard to take in some good news (well - good in the world of bc!) - I was all prepared for a full node clearance and 10 day wait to find out the results. Am now back for follow up 06/11 - I’m really hopeful that they got all of the lump this time too as it was only 0.1mm of DCIS into the margin after the last WLE. Surely the surgeon can’t have missed that?! (famous last words). So hopefully I will finally get to speak to an oncologist about chemotherapy etc at next appointment. As much as I’m not looking forward to it - the sooner I start, the sooner I finish.
Keep wondering what nasty surprise they will spring on me at next appointment though - last time I went from non-invasive DCIS treated with WLE and radiotherapy, to grade 3 invasive cancer needing chemo, radio and tamoxifen and a referral to the fertility clinic. Find it a bit difficult to be positive after that. I suppose i don’t know my HER2 status yet…
Still - yesterday went as well as it could have done. Surgeon came to see me in recovery and said they had a little cheer for me in the operating theatre when the OSNA result for the SLN came back clear. I’m having a little cheer for myself too