hi just to let everyone know the cold cap worked for me… i can now get wig out of bottom drawer and take back for a refund. that will pay for a new hair do… so peresevere itsworth it.
Jal…what a winner . You so deserve to have won this particular battle. I wasn’t brave enough to prolong my chemo time.
Congratulations
Margaret
Congratulations Jal!
Can I ask what type of chemo you had?
Lisa x
Jal
thats fantastic news- did you have any tenderness to your scalp at all. Any tips on what you did to help preserve hair other than cold cap.
What type of hair do you have?
Well done - and thank you for sharing - i’ve been dying to find someone who the cold cap worked for. Again which drugs and what dose were you on? how long did you stay under cold cap for each session
Hi.
Lisa. i had fec 75 i think it was called. i don’t know if that means anything to you.
Maria. the type of chemo is mentioned above. the cold cap was awful but worth it. i had to have it on half hour before treatment started and an hour and half after. so it did prolong my hospital visit. there was no tenderness to scalp at all. skin a bit dry but nothing that needed treatment. i have fairly thick hair so oncologist thought it would work. its normally just above shoulder length but had it cut short before treatment. i just personally felt the less weight on my roots might take the strain off and help. the first time wasn’t as bad and i kept it on two hours. second hour and half the third i was beginning to hate it so took off half hour before should have done.before you put it on the nurses wash your hair and put conditioner on. they soaked me in it. they provide the conditioner as they prefer it to be pH free ( i think cant remember ) then when take it off they tell you to leave it on till bed. well as i was going home and rough after chemo i wasn’t seeing anyone so i always left it on over night. i washed hair with dove strengthening shampoo and lukewarm water. and dried on low heat. i brushed it in morning and night not during day unless had to. if you get a chance try it. i live in a small village and amazingly only people i wanted to tell know and i felt if i lost my hair people would know. i am dying to dye it again as very grey have been since about 25 now 50. also feel pale colour doesnt help me looking healthy. hope this has been of some help.
x Julie x
Delighted for you - am sure you will enjoy your new hair do.
Thanks for your reply Julie.
I had 6x FEC 2yrs ago & used the cold cap. I managed to keep a little bit of my hair. After my 2nd cycle it started to fall out big time but I don’t think the nurses had put the cap on firmly enough as I didn’t lose as much on the next 4 cycles. They never put conditioner on my hair, in fact I had never heard about using conditioner until my breast care mentioned it on Monday.
I am due to start Taxotere very soon & I am going to try the cold cap again. This time I will be armed with a bottle of conditioner & I will make sure that the cap is firmly against my scalp!!!
Lisa x
Thanks Julie
I am on FEC 100 and have 170mg of epirubicin. The 75 or 100 refers to the epi (ie 75mg/m2) - the epi is the part of FEC that is most likely to cause hair loss. Do you know how much epi you had per session. The unit i go to don’t wash your hair they wet it and use johnsons baby conditioner - which like you i leave on until the morning - well did on my 1st trip as i was so rough that night - but as advised to only was twice a wk wouldn’t bother washing until the morning anyway. Can’t believe you got away with cold blow dry - i was advised not to touch the hairdryer!! so you did well.
Will look for pH neutral conditioner. Have bought scarves and seen others which i will buy. A friend of mine suggested that i ask everyone who goes away to bring me back a scarf - excellent idea. So i have 3 friends gone to Malawi - they are due back next wed - can’t wait to see what they come back with. I was supposed to go to Italy yesterday - a friend is getting married in Tuscany tomorrow but advised by Onc not to travel between 1st and 2nd (glad he said that as woke up with sore throat today) - but friends instructed to come back with scarf. Girl getting married is going to Paris for 2nights and then on to Cuba so should get both very stylish and ethnic scarves from her. Felt cheeky saying it to people but they were delighted saying that was a great idea - and it also makes them feel like they are doing something that is helping with the cancer - they know how important my hair is to me. Mother is off to Lourdes on the 24th - MMmm will think about that before i mention scarf collection…
Mariaxx
hi maria. the unit i went to said not to use any of the baby products as the ingredients that stop babies eyes watering etc is no good on our hair undergoing the cold cap. i couldnt stand smell of dove after no 3 fec so i thought i just go to chemist they didnt have a clue about ph neutral and none of conditioners have it on it i read the lot in sainsburys and tescos. in the end i was getting so worked up about it i decided to go for the onewith least smell that would stop me being sick. good luck
julie xxx