Ice cap or no ice cap? personal experiences?
Hi All, I was newly diagnosed mid December, have had surgery and am recovering well. I am due to start 12 weeks of weekly chemotherapy using paclitaxel. I will also be receiving Herceptin 3 weekly fo...
Forum Discussion
Hi!
Thanks for your message. I am
on a different treatment regime to you and am on taxol and not AC, and from what I can gather taxol is more gentle? I have been lucky so far. I am going into week 7/12 weekly treatments and have not shed much at all. In fact, I still had to shave my legs this weekend!
on a different treatment regime to you and am on taxol and not AC, and from what I can gather taxol is more gentle? I have been lucky so far. I am going into week 7/12 weekly treatments and have not shed much at all. In fact, I still had to shave my legs this weekend!
The best thing I did was go onto the Paxman website (brand of ice cap using) and watch the videos and read their info and FAQs (recommended by someone is this group). I have also joined the Paxman fb group which has been so helpful with women posting questions and feedback from all around the world using the same system.
It seems to be that everyone has a different experience even if on the same regime. Some women, like you, experience lots of early shedding but then get regrowth towards the end of their treatment. Others like me start to shed towards the end. Shedding can continue for 3 months post chemo. Some argue that even when lost a lot during chemo, continuing with the ice cap actually meant regrowth came back earlier, thicker and faster? It really is such a personal thing.
Wearing the cap is hard. I struggle with being connected to the iv let alone the cap too, especially as you say it adds another hour on to the end of treatment. That said i tell myself that every minute I wear it, is one less minute i won’t have to if that makes sense.
I know I have been really lucky so far but I am keeping myself level headed and open to the fact that i may lose lots at any time. I did a ‘look good, feel better’ course the other day (not sure if you can do those where you are) and part of it focused on wigs. I was fascinated by the human wigs and how real they looked. I won’t hesitate to get one if I need one and it has made me less fearful of losing my hair.
Sorry this has turned into an epic message lol.
Im not sure if Ive really helped in any way, but I will put the links below to the website and fb group if you wanted to check them out.
Happy for you to ask more questions, i think you can direct message if needed.
Lots of love x