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Cold Caps Users Past and Present, to Save Hair

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Comments

  • goldenpawsKim
    goldenpawsKim Member Posts: 102
    edited June 2015

    Hey StefLove - the worst was between Days 20 to 30. Don't stress ... it will let up. I'm still shedding (very lightly) and my last treatment was on March 12. It works, believe me!! Hang in there .... all will be fine :) -Kim


  • melb44
    melb44 Member Posts: 64
    edited June 2015


    I thought I would share how my hair is doing after my 4th AC. I have a bald spot above my ear but luckily my long bangs cover that. I still am having a ton of shedding. Hopefully my hair can hold out through Taxol. I really wish I could dye it and use a round brush and hair dryer but I am very happy to have hair.image

  • suladog
    suladog Member Posts: 837
    edited June 2015

    Melb,

    looking good!!!

  • Leslienva
    Leslienva Member Posts: 343
    edited June 2015

    Melb, no one would know you're on chemo!

  • Angiel
    Angiel Member Posts: 175
    edited June 2015

    Looks great Melb!!

  • suladog
    suladog Member Posts: 837
    edited June 2015

    My cold capping worked great with the Taxol/H combo. Didn't lose any hair....on my head that is. everywhere else it's Brazil! Anyway, my I'm a red head, my brows have always been pale blondish red, I've always had to darken them. My eyelashes, also pale. The eyelashes haven't come in yet, but my brows are coming in...dark dark dark, almost black!!! Whoa! Anyone else had this happen??? Will they go back to my normal color, I'm trying to tamp the color down so I don't look weird

  • dancetrancer
    dancetrancer Member Posts: 2,461
    edited June 2015

    The roots of my dark blonde hair have come back in much darker than they ever were, requiring highlights much more often. Eyebrows were dark brown before chemo - no change post.

  • StefLove
    StefLove Member Posts: 201
    edited June 2015

    finished ac #3 Thursday and starting to shed pretty heavily again :( also just found a bald spot above my ear that is luckily covered up by other hair for now. Gahhhhhh one more AC to go and I hope and pray doses dense taxol isn't as harsh :(

  • pch
    pch Member Posts: 185
    edited June 2015

    Katie, caps work great with taxol/carbo. I did dose dense (every three weeks). I definitely shed, but I'm seven weeks PFC and no one would guess I just went through chemo.

    Steflove, lots of us got those thin/bald spots around the ears (and some at the nape too). I had a couple of spots elsewhere also that were thinner than others but sprinkled on a little Toppik and forgot about it. Your hair will fill in. I already have about an inch and a half of growth.

    Eyebrows came in lightish then darkened up to my normal color. And I HAVE EYELASHES again! Real ones. Dark. (I'm using Lumigan PFC and it's working great.)

    Keep it up everyone! It seems like it's dragging on forever and then suddenly you're done.

  • wpmoon
    wpmoon Member Posts: 53
    edited June 2015

    Last infusion today, which means last cold capping session! Can't wait to mail all this stuff back!

  • Scarlett152
    Scarlett152 Member Posts: 43
    edited June 2015

    Yeah! Congratulations wpmoon!!

  • Scarlett152
    Scarlett152 Member Posts: 43
    edited June 2015

    Question for those on Taxotere/cytoxan - I'm at day 18 post TC #2 and the severe itchiness has started again. Should I expect another big shed? Last she'd post TC #1 was days 16 -22. I have had virtually no shedding since then. Have been sick with a virus since Friday and In ER all day Saturday to rule out neutropenia. :-(

  • Alibeths
    Alibeths Member Posts: 167
    edited June 2015

    https://www.facebook.com/sendBCpacking?fref=tsCongrats WPMOON!!!!!!

    Found this really MOTIVATING fb page for survivors....Follow it!

    https://www.facebook.com/sendBCpacking?fref=ts


  • bbwithbc45
    bbwithbc45 Member Posts: 367
    edited June 2015

    Wpmoon - happy for you! Smile

    It's a great thing to be sending the caps back and reclaiming the shelf in the freezer.

  • treelilac
    treelilac Member Posts: 138
    edited June 2015

    Hi ladies:

    I'm wondering where to find a supportive clinic/hospital to use PCC in Michigan. Any suggestion? (I'm close to Ann Arbor and have no luck in the neighborhood.)

    It seems Beaumont has collaboration with Oakwood and Botsford now. I thought maybe there could be help closer to home. Anyone has experience with them? Any insight is appreciated. :D

  • Deb20
    Deb20 Member Posts: 10
    edited June 2015

    use tea tree oil on your nails an that will help a great deal. Some on my nails lifted during treatments of taxol, but stopped and have been fine since using tea tree oil. You can get it at any pharmacy.

  • suladog
    suladog Member Posts: 837
    edited June 2015

    Wpmoon,

    Yes, retaking the freezer is a great and glorious event!

  • melb44
    melb44 Member Posts: 64
    edited June 2015

    Treelilac -


    I am in Michigan and use cold caps with Royal Oak Beaumont and then at my infusion center in Troy. It looks like on the Rapunzel project website that there is a freezer at Oakland Medical Group/Michigan Healthcare Professionals in Farmington Hills, MI. That is still a long way for you though. PCC can try to get a freezer in an office for you through the Rapunzel Project but it takes 3-4 weeks. Hope that helps.

  • melb44
    melb44 Member Posts: 64
    edited June 2015

    Has anyone done dose dense Taxol or the every three week old protocol with Taxol and used cold caps. I would really like to have less visits instead of the 12 weekly taxols I am signed up for right now. I am trying to see if I can get a different protocal but my oncologist isn't very agreeable.

  • treelilac
    treelilac Member Posts: 138
    edited June 2015

    Thank you, melb!! I'll look into the Rapunzel Project. :)

  • suladog
    suladog Member Posts: 837
    edited June 2015

    Melb,

    What's your mos reason for not letting you do the 12wk protocol? It can be a lot easier on the system doing a small dose once a week though it's a pain in the ass having to go every week I thought it was definitely worth it, and easier than it was having done chemo once every 3 wks 25 years ago.

  • PatinMN
    PatinMN Member Posts: 784
    edited June 2015

    melb - I think pch did dose dense taxol.  My onc told me that 12 weekly taxol gives better results than 4 taxol every 3 weeks, probably because the weekly dose ends up giving you more taxol overall.  (The weekly dose is more than 1/3 of the every-three-week dose.)  I'm not sure how much you get with the every-two-weeks dose.  I did weekly taxol, and I do think side effects are much less with weekly than dose dense, plus it's easier on your hair.  Yes it was a pain to go every week, but really the time flew by.

  • cheesequake
    cheesequake Member Posts: 68
    edited June 2015

    I guess I'm signing on! I ordered four Elasto-Gel caps, 4 pairs of mitts and 4 pairs of slippers. That was a huge chunk of money, but I'm expecting to throw them back on eBay when treatment is behind me.

    The first set of all three arrived last night - now to figure out how to make the most of them. I'll be reading this thread with interest when time permits (better get the reading done before my first infusion on June 30th!) Thanks ya'll for being here!

  • bbwithbc45
    bbwithbc45 Member Posts: 367
    edited June 2015

    Suladog, I remember you were thinking to start using Latisse. Have you?

    I got the prescription from my MO today, but my insurance won't cover it and the pharmacy told me it was $161. I don't know if I should splurge that much, if it's worth it.

  • suladog
    suladog Member Posts: 837
    edited June 2015

    BB,

    my pharma wanted the same, and the writers guild insurance wouldn't cover it, so...I was going to call my case manager and see if they'd override, (which they do sometimes) and then I noticed they're starting to come in again, very dark (I'm a redhead) , my husband says the lashes are coming in too so I figured why rush it.

    I thought about false lashes but I've never had good luck with them, they always wind up halfway down my neck.

  • bbwithbc45
    bbwithbc45 Member Posts: 367
    edited June 2015

    Suladog, I noticed that my eyebrows might be coming back already too, but this I wasn't so worried about - my bangs are covering my brows. Eyelashes will be more difficult. The thing is, they're not completely gone, just thinner and I have one small "bald" spot in them. I'm having a hard time paying so much for a 30-day supply when I'm not even sure they'll fall out completely. Maybe they won't?

    Did you lose all your lashes? How far after Taxol?

  • Alibeths
    Alibeths Member Posts: 167
    edited June 2015

    I did DD taxol last time. It was every 2 weeks. It was 10000000000x easier then ac

  • suladog
    suladog Member Posts: 837
    edited June 2015

    BB,

    my lashes all were gone by the end of taxol..I stopped using mascara even before I started chemo just so the change in my appearance wouldn't be too abrupt. My lashes have always been very stubby pale and blonde like a rabbit, but I really missed them. They seem to be back, so my husband says, I know the bottom lashes are coming in.

    I saw someone on here had great luck with false eyelashes but I'm a klutz with that kind of stuff. I tried them once a few years ago when we were presenting an award at a film festival and I wanted to look glamorous, but I never left the hotel room with them on. There are those fake lashes that you can add in little bits, where you need them. I saw them at CVS but never bought any

  • Angiel
    Angiel Member Posts: 175
    edited June 2015

    Yay Whitney! Glad to hear you're done & those caps are going back!!

    For those wondering about the Latisse....I've been using it consistently since I started AC treatment. My brows got thin between Taxols 4 & 5. I now have 2 Taxols left & I have to say my brows look as full as when I started this whole journey although they are lighter in color. My lashes are still hanging in there. I lost all on my bottom for about 2 weeks but they have already come back. Again, can't swear it's the Latisse but it might be...

    Now if only I could get this chemo-induced acne to clear up....

  • bbwithbc45
    bbwithbc45 Member Posts: 367
    edited June 2015

    Angiel, thank you for sharing your experiences with Latisse. Right now I'm thinking I'll wait and see how many more eyelashes fall out. But I may change my mind...

    I had acne till the end of my Taxol infusions, but with each infusion it was getting less severe.

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