Hello everyone,
I’m new to this forum and hoping you ladies will help. I am 32 yrs old and was diagnosed with Grade 3 IDC last month and underwent a lumpectomy surgery 2 weeks ago. My tumor was not big (1.2cms) and I’ve been lucky to have good results so far- clear margins and no lymph node involvement. as luck would have it though my IHC reports indicate my tumor is Triple Negative , no ER or HER2 receptors but a very weak positive PR and Androgen receptors. My oncologist has suggested I consider 8 cycles of chemotherapy and wants to go with the 4 cycles of FEC followed by 4 cycles of a taxane.
I was relatively stress free right up until this point as everything I’ve been reading about FEC doesn’t sound very encouraging. Hair loss is my single biggest fear with this disease, I’ve had waist length hair for 2 decades and I have a job that involves going out and meeting prospective clients a lot. As much as I try, I cannot come to terms with being comfortable with a wig and I know growing my hair back to even shoulder length is going to take till the end of 2020.
I fully appreciate cold capping doesn’t have guaranteed results and varies greatly for each person.Just want to know if there are people that have successfully retained their hair while on FEC-T chemo and cold capping? I’d greatly appreciate the feedback
Thankyou!
Sincerely,
A
Hi ABC987 just a quick reply to your question. I finished chemo just over 6 weeks ago, had 3FEC and 3T. Like you I was absolutely petrified of losing my hair and I cold capped every session. I also used botanical treatment on my hair during the cold capping which basically was 2 lots of different conditioners to protect the scalp and hair from the cold cap. Although I have lost hair I have no bald patches just a general thinning and you would never know if you didnt know me. I used very gentle shampoo and conditioner and was very careful combing. Had to have it cut a couple of weeks ago as it had gone a bit wild. The chemo has made it a bit brittle so I still have to treat it very carefully but I am sure it will not leave me now as bits and pieces around the hairline are growing back although I hadnt really noticed it had gone from there. So in answer to your question it does work but I think it depends on the condition of your hair in the first place and also how the cap is placed. It needs to be very tight and pulled down onto the crown and it is not the most pleasant of experiences but it is completely doable. I feel very lucky to have kept my hair and you can only try. At least then you will know you did your best. Good luck x
Hi ABC987
I’m not on the same regime as you nor did I cold cap, so have lost my hair but I didn’t want to pass your post without passing on an observation I have made.
There is a young lady in her early 30’s who is having the same treatment as you and she is cold capping. She has waist length dark brown hair and has kept over 90% of it and she has done 5 cycles now. She has no bald patches just had a little thinning.
She washes her hair once a week with baby shampoo and lets it air dry (no heated appliances as hair is easily damaged) and uses a wide toothed comb. Shower combs are better if you can get one as that has even wider teeth so does even less damage, treat your hair gently.
She makes sure the cap is pulled down very tightly, she says it’s uncomfortable but so worth it to have kept her hair.
There are no guarentees but it’s worth trying, you never know you might, like her keep the vast majority of your beautiful hair.
Good luck with your treatment, it is generally not as bad as you think it will be, and your decision regarding cold cap.
Joemic x