Looking for Paxman reviews
I am starting chemotherapy (Taxotere + Cyclophosphamide) next week. I will have 4 cycles at three weeks interval. Infusion center I will go to, they have Paxman scalp cooling system. So I don't need to keep changing cold caps every 20 minutes. I am looking for reviews, anyone used it before? Any pros/cons, tips greatly appreciated.
Comments
-
I am also about to start chemo treatment and using the Paxman cold caps - my first treatment is this Thursday. Following to see what others input will be. Thanks
0 -
You can go to coldcap.com and join their Facebook group. There are lots of Paxman cold cap users sharing their experiences, tips etc. There are many successful stories as well as not so successful ones. Right size of cap and appropriate wearing of the cap is very important. I just completed 12 Taxol weekly treatments using the Paxman cold cap, I kept some hair but have bald spots which I think are because of not good contact of the cap with my scalp. I wish I joined the Facebook group earlier.
0 -
Thank you so much crystal15, I just asked to be a member of the group. I looked for it yesterday and there were 4-5 groups for Paxman, so was not sure which one would be good. But looking at their website, figured out which one to use. I did hear about bald spots and I was thinking that could be due to fitting. I have to be vigilant about it.
0 -
Hello. I used Paxman and retained about 40% of my hair. Similar story as others - bald spots likely caused by cap not being tight enough. It was fairly new at Kaiser when I started so hopefully they are more experienced now.
Good luck
0 -
nipab:
I used Dignicap which works the same way as Paxman. With both Dignicap and Paxman, you wear the same cap for the duration of the chemo infusion. A machine pumps refrigerant through tubes in the cap to cool the scalp. Penguine cold caps are the ones that need to be switched out as they are not mechanically refrigerated but chilled before hand and warm during use.
I lost most of my hair with Dignicaps. I started with thin long hair but it was naturally thin. During the first infusion, the cap did not make enough contact with my scalp in some areas and during treatment, I developed big bald patches on top and on the sides but I was never completely bald and new hair started growing between infusions. Here are some photos of my results. It's the post about 9 replies down. You will have to copy and paste because the links aren't working.
https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/6/topics/735873?page=1387#post_5329187
At the end of treatment I was left with thin short hair with two "rat tails" on the side so I just cut them. My hair grew back without issue, which was my goal as taxotere can occasionally cause permanent hair loss and was the motivation for cold capping in my case.
0 -
jey22, good luck tomorrow. Hope the cap works out.
wc3, thank you for giving the link. I guess I need to make sure the fitting is very tight, otherwise definitely going to lose hair.
Thanks calinana4, going for fitting today, hopefully there are cap size that fits me like a glove!
0 -
niqab:
The cap needs to make good contact with your scalp. If need be, this can be achieved by placing maxi pads, believe it or not, between the outer cap and inner cooling cap. But if there is too much pressure, the pulling can also result in hair loss. That is how I developed a bald patch on my left side. We tried the smaller cap as my hair had thinned making the one I had been using less snug. But the smaller one was too tight where the left sensor was and I guess pulled on the hair.
0 -
wc3, that is a good information to have. Thank you. I went for fitting yesterday and they were thinking small is good, but I could see my sides are not covered, then they put on medium and covered it with outer small cap which looked like working better. Waiting to get the items shipped to me, so I can try it few times before taking it to infusion center. Hoping for the best and ready for anything.
Planning to go wig shopping in couple of weeks
0 -
I am going to try Paxman at kaiser soon so find this discussion helpful- will look into the Facebook page as well.
I didn't have this for my first chemo in 2012 and found going bald horrendous - wore wigs and baseball caps with hair- it was so traumatic though. this time I may be on the treatment for a long time so will see how it goes.
0 -
Just reporting in. I am a half way through chemo -- I've done 6 doses of weekly Abraxane and 3 doses of every third week Cytotax. Six more Abraxane and 1 more Cytotax to go. Until last week, I hadn't lost much hair anywhere, so it was hard to assess how much difference Paxman made. In the past week, I've lost a lot of hair on most of my body, but I'm shedding only a little more than usual on my scalp. I know this could change, but I'm very happy right now and it feels like the extra hours needed to do Paxman are worthwhile. Just my 2 cents.
0 -
Hi Lef- well I lost all of my hair everywhere 11 years ago with AC- first dose- did 4 and then 12 taxol without cold capping and it took a while to regrow- it was very traumatic- had to wear wigs etc. so sounds like you are doing way better than that and supposedly regrowth is much faster with Paxman. The body hair didn't grow back much, I didn't care about that hair though. eye brows and lashes may come and go for a little while as they need to coordinate regrowth cyclically after they all fall out at once.
I am currently using Paxman with Enhertu. I have had 3 doses and started to shed after second dose. it is thin on top and in the back, but, no bald areas and I can wear a hat and lots of hair is visible- so no wig. Eyebrows and eyelashes so far not affected. I feel a little regrowth- but, will see if that is true when I see my hair dresser. pretty sure I would be bald without Paxman- but, it is different for everyone.
Paxman is definitely worth it- esp for privacy- it took much longer to regrow that I thought it would.
0