You can see I'm back with a vengeance... I was offered cold caps at the same place I would be having the chemo, at no extra cost or runaround so I decided to give it a go if I could tolerate it. I'm not hung up on losing my hair but know that it would make everything a little bit gentler for the kids (and partner) and if I could manage it and the extra time it takes, no problems. The day of the disastrous non-chemo, about the only thing that wasn't a problem was the cold cap - whether it wasn't on really firmly or I was just so traumatised from the preceding 6 hours, who knows... Jump 3 days to second try at chemo and I found the cap only just bearable. I've still got a couple of weeks to see if it has had the desired effect but I really hate having the greasy feeling of the conditioner-washed hair hanging around my face and I look like one of the lesser-groomed side characters on Midsomer Murders. So, I'm starting to assemble fors and againsts.I know from reading everyone's posts that when their hair falls out and grows back, the texture, colour and spread can be quite different from how it was before.I'm sure that even with cold caps (and I know even if successful there's likely to be thinning) there will be changes to the hair. Of those of you who have used them, how would you compare your hair to before, immediately after chemo course, and further down the track?

Hi lovely ladies, Months down the track of chemo & radio. Lung cancer primary - tick. HER2 POS breast cancer - a work in progress. Grrrrr. I just wanted to share my experience with cold cap. 1st time was horrific. So painful, tears (not like me) & fear. I learnt by trial and error that taking a couple of panadol beforehand helped heaps & as the brochure says "place an extra goop of sukin conditioner on crown of head and smear a little way down." This helped to lessen the pain during endless hours and especially helped at removal time with the freezer feel/look. 3rd treatment & I could barely feel the cold cap. PS this was winter in Hobart! I had longish, straight quite thick blonde COLOURED hair & I chose not to cut it as I wanted to see what happened & I've never had short hair. Tried to stay as "normal as pos".End result, hair thinned quite a lot after extreme chemo/treatment had finished & have receding temples so have changed part to cover. Slowly returning now. I used an afro comb if anyone can remember those & combed my hair in the backyard. My hairdresser had products that did not contain any nasties so was able to continue colouring. I see a huge difference in loss of thickness but no one else seems to notice and I actually get compliments on my hair. If they only knew. I feel it was worth the initial pain,effort & many extra hours it added to my treatment. I am grateful my hospital at least had cold caps as an option. Best wishes & hugs. Maggie.

I am 15 days after my first dose and I am shedding hair abit more and the hair in my nether regions is dropping out at a great rate but my head hair is hanging in there - fingers crossed.

The new hat I may be rocking - it says it all though - gratitude - to be alive!! There is a little sparseness on top now.

Well, that sort of puts a different perspective on it. You are going through all this and lost your sister 18 months ago - and you want to spare your sister's children the pain of seeing the visual effects again. You are one extraordinary woman! I can't even start to imagine those circumstances but a complementary buzz cut is the very least you deserve. I'd have done the Sinead O'Connor thing if my head wasn't the wrong shape, with a pre cancer bald patch, a few scars and a mole to boot!! But go for it - given what you have been through, a few stares and thin eyebrows are hardly in the race. I hope this is the worst part, that you triumph over this and that there are no more tears. Best, best wishes and all power to you.

@kmakm Sometimes the heavens open up and just rain a shitstorm, don't they? I'm sure you're on top of it, but just in case you're not (and I know you've got so much energy to sort everything out), have you looked into what care your father-in-law might be entitled to (I also don't know how active he is)? My in-laws are entitled to quite a bit under different schemes and, although your situation is different, I would assume that you could make a claim as being an invalid carer (not that I know an awful lot about this stuff but might be worth trying to find out). This may mean that you can get services to help out. It might not be much but, hell..I'd give over the cooking and cleaning to someone else any day of the week!

Cold Cap Experience | BCNA Online Network

181 Replies

Kiwi_Angel
Member
8 years ago
@Sister how did u find the pain (I’m not sure if that would be the right word) of the cold cap. I have my first TC tomorrow and am going to give it a go. Losing my head hair and eyebrows scares me more than losing my breast did - all the other hair can go though
kmakm
Member
8 years ago
I got fed up with my patchy, bitty head stubble. Some of it was left over from the cold cap and would come out when pulled, while other bristles were grimly hanging on. So I got my husband to shave it tonight. I feel much neater and fresher. If I need to I might get him to do it again next week before the head henna. So interested to see what and how it grows back. Trusting that it will...
kmakm
Member
8 years ago
@sister Will do!

Kids...
Sister
Member
8 years ago
Post a photo @kmakm when you have it done! I'll show my daughters - son definitely would hate it (doesn't like standing out in a crowd)
kmakm
Member
8 years ago
Thank you for the update and fingers crossed.

*whispers* um, I've booked in for a henna on my scalp on Good Friday to mark the end of chemo... I'm mad for India and often get them on my feet & hands. I sincerely hope I'll never be bald again so thought I'd seize the moment...
Sister
Member
8 years ago
Just to keep it on the same post in case anyone is following this at some stage... Have been losing some hair since Day 17. I'm monitoring it at the moment. If it doesn't get worse I'll go with the cold caps again in a couple of days. If it does, then maybe I won't. I've canvassed the kids and 2 say they don't care but the one I'm most concerned about, is anxious (but has said that she will cope if I'm bald). Everyone says "no way" to henna tattoos (teens and tweens these days are so boring) - if I go bald, I'll just have to get an outrageous wig or way out-there hats and scarves!
Sister
Member
8 years ago
@Barney74 Hoping to keep my hair similar to what it is and not freaking the kids out are the only reasons I'm bothering with the cold cap. Otherwise, I'd go bald (with maybe some henna tattoos).

@kmakm I said to my surgeon originally that I needed 6 years, wanted 10 - he said, make it 30 at least. I really do wish that I knew whether the chemo and rads are really necessary. If there's cancer cells floating around, then I'm happy to do it but the thought that maybe I'm poisoning and burning my body for no reason is more than depressing.
Barney74
Member
8 years ago
I didnt use cold cap .
But my hair has grown back completely different colour grey im 43 and im so depressed about it .
I want my normal hair back
Breast cancer look what you do to us women i hate it
kmakm
Member
8 years ago
@sister Ha! My surgeon said he'd get me ten years. I told him I wanted 30. I think we'll hit that date in the same month. Let's get together then and have a drink to celebrate. 2047 here we come...
Sister
Member
8 years ago
Day 16. Still got all of my hair. Not sure if it's a good thing, or not - seems a bit of a hassle, really. Why can't you just lose the hair you don't want?

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Cold Cap Experience

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