Cold Capping treatment

pmars511

How do I get this Cold Capping treatment at my hospital? I've done research on it & I've found that DigniCap & Paxman have the automated machines, but my hospital isn't one of them. (the closest place is over an hour away). What do I do? I'm on Medicare & it does only cover the automated ones. My 1st treatment is next week. HELP!

exbrnxgrl

pmars511,

Cold capping is still not a universally accepted practice for those undergoing chemo. While it is true that some treatment centers do offer the Dignicaps or Paxman systems, it is not as common as one would imagine. You can contact your tx center and ask if they are considering purchasing this type of system but unless they are already in the process of doing so, any plans to purchase will likely not happen quickly as you need.

Most medical insurance did not cover any type of cold capping at all in the past so it was, and often still is, at the patients expense. You might consider the more traditional cold capping, self pay, or you might look at some of the cold capping threads and see if anyone who has already cold capped can offer you advice. Take care

moderators

Hi @pmars511,

Welcome and thanks for posting! You can find lots of good info here, including other resources to check out that can help:

https://www.breastcancer.org/treatment-side-effects/hair-loss/cold-caps-scalp-cooling

We hope this helps!

—The Mods

mandy23

Hi @pmars511 -

You might want to check on your coverage and get it in writing.

I am on Medicare and it did not cover anything for my cold capping even though mine was with a Paxman system. This was in 2023. I suppose it's possible that a Medicare Advantage plan might have some limited coverage, but be very clear on what it does and does not cover as it is quite expensive.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but before you start researching the cold capping too much, it's important to know the costs.

Do read the threads the mods posted on cold capping as they will give you more info. It is possible to do it without a system, but much more complicated and you have to pick up dry ice each time as I understand it.

Good luck to you.

Take Care.