Dear all - I have completed 3 x sessions of Epirubicin and so far have used the cold cap and I have hair - it’s thinner than it was but I can go out without a hat or scarf and no-one notices. Fair enough .
Monday week is my last Epi before switching to Taxotere and I had thought of abandoning the cap cause frankly it is a horrific experience and last time it was nothing short of torture. But … I don’t want to get this far if some of the posts are correct and Tax may not make me lose my hair totally if I thought for one minute that it would stay I would do one more cap but if not then I will not subject myself to that again cause I know fine that I will not be able to cope with a further 5 sessions (1 x Epi and the 4 x Tax)
so any views ? I’m quite conflicted and know that I need to make a decision - the nurses won’t/don’t help really as they say (rightly) that everyone is different but I could use some input. As it stands I’m not going further with the cap unless there is good reason to feel that I won’t lose it all in any case once the Epi is over.
thanks for taking the time to read this and hopefully reply xx
Hi there
I can’t help you i am afraid, but i am starting FEC x3 then TAX x 3 soon and have asked for the cold cap (is it really hard going?). I was told that it had to be used from the first cycle and by the time i got to tax, would not need it as the hair (if it works, would be saved?)
Hopefully someone will be able to advise you soon.
I lost all my hair on FEC and it started to grow back at the end of Taxotere if that is any help.My onc doesnt like the cold cap so even though the hospital had one they no longer use it so I had no choice about losing my hair.
I was going to choose cold cap but onc said all well and good but it means that the chemo is not getting to all of the hair folicles, so I did not have it.
hated being bald but its not for that long…this disease is fraught with decisons
Frankly the cold cap was not worth the torture (i had it for all 4 FEC and 4 Tax), and extra time, because in the end Tax takes care of it and in fact it is oddly liberating when you “let go” of that particular issue. Your hair will grow back before you finish Tax so you are not that long (in the grand scheme of things) without hair really. Seeing it float down the plug hole is hard but it’s winter, time of hats and scarves and you can get trendy in the short term and by spring you’ll have lots of sprouting going on. Leg hair will be last to go and first to damn well come back!
The cold cap definitely works well for some ladies but it is excrutiating and ALL BCNs should try it … before extolling its dubious virtues.
I had 4xfec,4xtax.I used the cold cap throughout and kept most of my thick long hair on fec…however I ended up as bald as a coot on tax - didn’t have a hair anywhere on my body.
Josie x
I have used the coldcap for 3 cycles of FEC, the most significant hair loss for me so far, started on the 18th day into about 2 weekd of the second cycle, I start 3 cycles of Tax, on the 6th Jan, my hair as thinned but I have retained a goodcoverig that no-one notices that I have actually thinned quite a lot, even the chemo nurses where surprised how effective it has been, hopefully i will be saying the same after tax
I am using the cold cap, I have had 4 sessions of Fec and yes my hair got thinner, but it was long and fairly thick to start with. I am the only person who really noticed. I am coming to the end of Taxotere sessions on wednesday and have continued to use the cold cap, the time is very different to FEC and is just 40 miutes after treatment has finished. I do think that I have not lost hair on tax just the usual amount when you brush. I would reommend its use, because although I was fully prepared for hair loss - being bald, had decided that I did not want a wig but would wear scarves, not loosing my hair has been a good psychological boost. I have however found chemo very tough with considerable side effets and cannot be sure that wearing the cold cap contributed to that. I do like to thik that I have a cast iron satomach when in reality it is a bit delicate.