I am Famous...well kind of. Officially a Paxman Pioneer for scalp cooling

@stargirl I'm disappointed that anyone would cause you to feel less for going for the cold caps.  Like @kmakm, I tried it and chose to give it up after the second treatment as I lost a strip of hair that couldn't be covered up.  But I had everyone - family, friends and medicos - cheering me on and supporting me in my choice to try to keep my hair.  Everyone thought that it was important to try to keep one more aspect of cancer treatment at bay if I could and wanted to.  They also supported my decision to stop when it wasn't working well enough (although it was hard to get my husband to clip it short).  

Beautifully put @AllyJay

@StarGirl, I'm quite sure it was not your intention to offend, but I just wanted to clarify that not all who choose to shave their heads in a controlled and empowering situation, are doing it in order to acquire a "tattoo on the forehead" so to speak, in order to obtain pity or sympathy from the general public. Not all do it to get extra brownie points in some sort of Kafkaesque pissing contest to see who has "payed the higher price" in this nightmare disease and its fallout. (Pardon the pun). Some choose to wait for the inevitable start of hair loss and then end up shaving as their heads now look as if the mice have gotten to it, and for them, the shaving is almost an admitting of defeat, regarding hoping that their hairloss would be less rather than more. Others bite the bullet, and as I saw it for myself, get a Marine #1 buzz cut, and thus in "warrior mode", put on their figurative combat boots and prepare for the battle ahead.

It's all confusing but like almost everything to do with bc these are personal choices and are respected as such. I was treated too early for a cold cap choice too. I doubt if I would have done it, intense prolonged cold on my head would probably have caused me more grief than losing my hair. I believed my oncologist that I would lose my hair and while I waited until the first hairs fell, I had my course of action (no 3 clippers) lined up. I accept that, for many women, losing their hair is the worst part of treatment, just as I expect their acceptance that it wasn't such a big issue for me. 

@AllyJay I’m very sorry if my comments upset or offended you. It was definitely not my intention to judge or criticise other people’s situations or choices. I was only relaying my own experience and the negativity aimed at me for choosing cold caps and how unexpected and confusing it was.

It can be very distressing to have your hair come away in huge handfuls, to find it all over the house, matted on your pillow when you get up in the morning. Plus, your scalp can really hurt in the run up to it falling out. Mine did. I tried the cold cap but it didn't work well enough for me to persist, so I shaved it off. At that stage I could have worn a hat or cap all the time as there was enough hair clinging to the sides, but the texture was horrible, all brittle and manky. It was just all to much so off it came.

We are all very different from each other. The reason I tried the cold cap was because I wanted to try to minimise the trauma to my niece and nephew by not presenting them with the same visual as their deceased mother's.

I think the need for control at a time when you have virtually none is completely understandable. When I took my hair off it was scary but I felt empowered.

There's no right or wrong. We all do what we need to in order to get through the Big C. What surprises one is often completely logical to another. With respect, vive la difference. K xox

I have to be honest and say that I find some of the above recent comments to be somewhat disparaging to myself. When I was diagnosed three years ago at age 57, I was, and still am a public patient. I was diagnosed at a major Sydney teaching hospital, where nothing was mentioned to me about cold caps. I had never heard of them until joining this group, and by then my AC chemo had been completed, and the point would have been moot. I was told that I would definitely loose my hair, that on my head and my entire body. I was told that it would start by me having an itchy or even painful scalp, after which my head hair would start to fall out in bits and pieces, but that ultimately about 90 - 100% would go. I had very long hair then...I used to sit on it. It had been longer than waist length since my teens. When I got married 39 years ago, I sat on it. My babies played with it, and it was sort of my trademark. I was known as either so and so's wife, so and so's mother or the lady with the long hair. The knowledge of me losing it, in dribs and drabs, in the shower, on my pillow and just generally everywhere was very distressing to me. I had no control over the cancer, other medical conditions, or, as far as I knew then, over the loss of my hair. My very identity. I did, however have control over how it would go. My daughter and daughter in law brushed and then plaited it one last time, my beloved husband then cut the plait off with tears streaming down his face, and my son finished off with clippers. My 14 month old grandson cheered from the sidelines in his highchair. I felt loved and supported and empowered. This had nothing...nothing...to do with some exhibitionistic tendency to want to shout out in public "Look at me...Look at me...I have cancer...look at poor little me." It was not some kind of one up showcard to flash at others implying that they were not as committed as I, and that they with hair had somehow let down the sisterhood. Had I known about, and had I had the finances for cold capping, I would have given it a go. As it happened, the remaining stubble on my head all came out and each shower session left me with hairy hands, much like a werewolf, but that was just the last 2mm. The cancer could have that, I still had my plaited ponytail as a reminder of what was. If some others have really expressed the above sentiments, well then they are accountable for that. I however do not want to be painted with the same brush as them.

Aaah yes @StarGirl,

You are correct, I have had that  a couple of times also. I actually had someone say to me once that my cancer must not have been as bad as hers because I kept my hair.  WOW like if you didn't lose your hair you didn't do the hard yards. I couldn't even get away as she was sitting in the chemo chair accross for me.  All I could utter was "guess not then". and go back to my crossword.

 Confusing definitely.

In general though most people are very supportive, or are stunned because they didn't even know cold capping existed and they just found out something magic.

I got a lot of negativity not from medical professionals but from other women. I was astounded. There seems to be a strong view that electing to keep your hair is vanity and nothing more. I was shocked to find that many women don’t even wait to see if they will lose all their hair but actually shave their heads upon starting chemo. My using cold caps (primarily because I chose not to tell people about my condition including my children) was viewed with disdain like I was letting down the sisterhood. I still find that attitude very perplexing. We don’t ask people with other serious medical conditions to tattoo it on their forehead. 

@Ellie_Goli

You are more than welcome lovely. 

Yes, there is alot of it won't work with this and it won't work with that, I got that as well.  Unfortunate really as people that may have done really well with it might not even try due to the negativity.

 You've made it passed the AC so you should be good.  The shedding seemed to slow down a bit on the paclitaxel. 

I am so very glad you have done well with it.   Hang in there, you're nearly there sweet.

xoxoxoxoxo