Cold Caps Users Past and Present, to Save Hair
Comments
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BTW - Dancetrance - Your hair does look awesome. My husband is now sold!
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Thank you Warrior Woman! So happy to help. I brought just my husband to chemo with me, and he handled it well, but he was very busy all day - at least he was never bored! We saw it as our "battle" together and preferred it to just be he and I, but it definitely would be easier with 2 helpers - if you have the ability to arrange that. But if not, it is definitely doable with just one helper. But practice ahead of time and have your routine down so the first day is not quite as stressful. The way I looked at it was 4 stressful days (I only had 4 infusions) were worth it to me to keep my hair. And it gave me a sense of some control over SOMETHING when cancer had taken away so much control of my life. But everyone is different, and I realize doing the caps is certainly not for everyone.
Oh, and one caveat - if your regimen contains Adriamycin note there has been not nearly the success with that drug and keeping your hair. Several have made it through but have lost a lot more hair and had some bald/very thin spots to try to cover. So the regimen you are on plays a key role in your odds of success.
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Warrior - I don't know how helpful or knowledgeable the nurses would be with the cold cap protocol. I decided not to use the caps. However, I did talk to a few of the nurses about others who have used the caps there. They reported that the women who did use them had mixed results. Some kept their hair and some did not. They (the nurses) were interested in the process and willing to accommodate anyone who would bring caps. I guess that means they would time the infusions to match the cap changes and provide the space needed to fit helpers and materials. Overall, I found the chemo nurses at the Perlman Center to be excellent. I received terrific care on each infusion day.
Perlman was convenient for me since I could take a train into town on the morning of my tx. It was a short walk to Perlman from the station. I saw my onc, had blood work done and began tx by the time my husband joined me at lunch. It worked out well, husband only lost a half-day of work and I enjoyed my cup of coffee while waiting for my appointment with my MO.
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Warrior Woman-I have posted photo's of several woman I have helped with the caps on my website. There's also instructions that will help you with preparing the dry ice and packing the coolers if you don't have a freezer available. Three months goes by very fast! When you've reached that mark I'll bet you'll be very happy you chose to use the cold caps.
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gilded cage, I will check out the henna. I wonder if my hairdresser would work with it?
Warrior, any decision you make will be the right decision. I lost my hair the first time I did chemo. I felt like it took years for it to look right again. I want to slap the people who say I look great bald or with short hair. I wanted my shoulder length hair back. I also was worried about the multi color effect and dyed my colored red hair brown to match my natural hair color 4 weeks before chemo with a non ammonia color. I have more gray on my natural part so I changed my part to hide the gray and used color mark and this similar product that goes on like a big marker. Towards the end of chemo the colormark just wasn't doing the job, my roots were an inch and half long. 4 weeks after chemo I dyed with semipermanent no ammonia hair dye and got a haircut. It looks better but I am looking forward to permanent color because I still see a few grays and I can see the red coming through the color. My hair actually looks better than before chemo I think because its thinner so it lays flatter and has natural oils that keeps it from frizzing. I don't use any hair products, no spray, no mousse. I still only wash twice a week with DermOrganics shampoo and conditioner and don't use heat. All these years I wish I had known less is more when it comes to my hair! You can use a very loose pony tail tie, but don't pull on the hair.
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Happy New Year everyone! I finished my last radiation treatment on New Year's Eve - so happy to say goodbye to 2013 and hello to a new year! I am hoping some cold cap vets are still lurking on this site. For the newbies, I am 7 weeks post last chemo. My hair looks thinner, but great. I found the caps to be very successful. If you decide to do it, there is a lot of support here. Don't be afraid to ask for it!
For those veteran cold cappers, what has you experience been with color? Marsha - I see you colored 4 weeks PFC with a non-ammonia color. Did you have any problems with that? Can you share the color you used? Anyone else have success with color? I am afraid to put anything on my roots at this time as I feel like my hair is still a little fragile. Thanks for any response!
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Wanted to post a photo - this is 6 weeks PFC. I thinned around the hairline, ears, and nape of neck but no one really seemed to notice. Hope this inspires someone
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MFM, you look great!0 -
Beautiful mfm!
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MFM - you look amazing!
Kaydee - so nice to see how well you are doing!
I am just chiming in - someone asked about colouring. I am 5.5 months PFC. I was one of the not so lucky ones. While i never had any bald spots, i lost a ton of hair. I am managing with fake ponytails and sometimes a wig, depending on my mood. However, for what remains, I finally used Herbatint about a month ago (I think it's Naturtint in the U.S.). The coverage of grey is great and it really seems to last a long time and it has no ammonia; i think maybe a little peroxide. I didn't find any issues with using it, as scared as i was.
My lashes and brows seem to be thinning again, this past week. Not happy about that. Was enjoying having them back and looking better. Hopefully they won't fall out completely. I also had a bunch of nails fall out PFC....despite icing. They seem to be doing much better now.
Good luck to the newbies!
xo
Curly
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Thanks Dance and Texas! Curly. Have you tried the Anastasia Brow kit from Ulta? I love it. It is a powder and not a pencil - the pencil was too obvious for me. My brows have thinned more since chemo stopped and lashes seem to be falling out as well. I just started Latisse. I'll post with results in a few weeks!
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Speaking of thinning hair, I have been on Anaztrosole for one month and I am already noticing thinning hair all over my head. Has anyone heard of a product called VIVISCAL? I just came across this in a sales add for a farmers market and looked into the ingredients. It is suppose to help with thinning hair and other problems with hair. They do advise to check with your doctor before taking it. One of the main ingredients is Biotin which is one of the "B" vitamins.
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Ladies - For several days I have asked a ton of neophyte questions about cold caps. Today I decided on chemo. A dear friend is excited to be my cold cap helper. I am so grateful.
MFM - You inspired me. You all inspired me.
I am waiting for a second opinion on my chemo regime and then I will call Penguin. It's worth a try.
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Martessa - I have started using Biosil per recommendation of another poster on this site named Hortense. You can find it on Amazon. I don't expect results yet (although I can see baby hairs coming in), but Hortense had great results. Good luck!
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Yay Warrior Woman!
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mfm, great hair! Glad the caps worked so well for you.
Gildedcage, I didn't realize you finished chemo- with hair! Congratulations
Curley, so good to hear from you. Sorry to hear about your troubles.
Warrior woman, glad to hear you have another helper. I think it's much easier with two people and it will give your husband a break. We'll be here in cyberspace to help too. If you haven't already seen Maria's blog, you can search for her user name- mdg. She posts here frequently and has a link on her posts to her blog that details her cold cap journey.
Haven't heard from Daye in a while- everything ok?
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I'm doing well! Thanks for checking in. Third of four treatments is tomorrow morning. Shedding has slowed down and my hair still looks completely normal. I'm so glad I made the decision to use the caps. I know I would be bald right now without them, but instead I was able to go out on NYE and feel completely normal! Thanks for all the advice and support!
Mfm- you look great!!
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MFM you look amazing!!! NO ONE would ever know you were doing chemo!! So nice to see more successes posted!
Daye - good luck tomorrow! You are almost there. So glad you got to be "normal" on NYE! That's the beauty of the caps...not vanity - normalcy!!! Hang in there!
Warrior - good luck! What chemo will you have???
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Mdg - As it looks now I will have Cytoxan, Taxotere every three weeks for four sessions. From all the post I've read on here, I can anticipate good results. Am I correct?
BTW - Love your blog!
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Marsha - Years ago I used henna just to make my hair pretty. It was professionally applied at a salon. If your hairdresser doesn't use it others do. And thank you for being an inspiration.
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Warrior - I was on the CT regime and the PCC seemed to work well for me. I've posted this before but I think it bears repeating. Make sure you knead the caps every 10 minutes. It gives your capper something else to do
and keeps the cold circulating to all the follicles! Good luck with your decision. For the other newbies, I put in a claim with Blue Cross / Blue Shield. Will let you know if I get reimbursement. Wouldn't that just be awesome!
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mfm - I am taking notes!
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warrior...so glad that you are going to try out the caps. I have completed 3 of 4 round and I am pleasantly surprised how well it has worked. It is quite amazing. I also have a few people that help me out on my infusion days. I call them my "pit" crew. They are awesome.
Looking forward to my last treatment on Jan. 17th!
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And another question - I will take Tamoxifen after chemo. This is known to cause hair thinning. Does anyone know what this may mean for me after using cold caps for chemo?
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I'm on Arimidex and definitely notice some thinning. You might also want to look into the products that keep you from loosing your eyelashes and eyebrows. I forget the name. I bought some at the wig shop and used it for my first two sessions. It seemed to work. However, I messed up and forgot to apply it before my third tx, so I just gave up. My eyelashes never really recovered. They are there, but thin and short. My eyebrows disappeared, reappeared after tx and then disappeared again. They are fine now.
OT - enjoy the snow!
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Thanks Janet - Because of your feedback I may go to Penn for chemo. I'm getting the details.
I guess my question is that because cold cap users experience thinning during chemo, what will the added impact be of Tamoxifen after chemo?
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Warrior - I was on Tamox for 1.5 years post chemo (TCH) and did not notice any thinning at all. However after chemo (wasn't allowed by onc during chemo) I started taking biotin to help strengthen and build my hair. I'm not sure if it has done much or not during that time, but I took it anyways!
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Warrior - yes, taxotere and Cytoxan seem to have good results with the caps. I have been on tamoxifen for 2 1/2 years now and my hair is not thinner. I even had an oophorectomy and my hair is still hanging in there. Glad the blog helped.....
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That's reassuring. Thanks Ladies. Making note of Biotin!
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Good luck to all the new cappers! I was in your shoes a year ago - trying to decide on whether all the hassle of the ice, capping, etc. was worth it, and I'm happy to say it was! And if I hadn't at least tried I would have always regretted it. Don't forget to take Biotin and Silica - both important to keep the hair growing throughout treatment where it may thin. I think the Biosil product has both, but you can also take separately as I did. I had 4 rounds of T/C and actually found the capping to be a welcome distraction from the reality of chemo...we were always kneading or changing caps that the time just flew by. I also took a Xanax and 2 extra strength Tylenol an hour before chemo and had accupuncture in the morning - needless to say I was pretty relaxed by the time the drugs started flowing
. My hair thinned just above the ears and nape of the neck but it grew back really quickly and is now about 4" long in those areas, 9 months pfc. I had to get a bit more creative with my styling and hair washing routine, but day by day, the time passed and before I knew it I was 6 months out and got my highlights and a good cut and reunited with my blow dryer. During chemo if I had a special occasion, I would cool blow dry my hair until just damp, then put in velcro rollers and let dry - it really looked pretty good and had lots of body. Agreed, it's a lot of effort, but it does work and I think everyone should at least be presented the option. Keep your questions coming, we're all here to help you be successful!0
