The Cold Cap- so did it work for you?

Sorry, dont have an answer for you but was wondering the same thing...recently diagnosed with cervical cancer starting rdio/chemo in 2 weeks and freaking out about hairloss. Then i feel guilty about worrying about it, but my hair is a big deal to me too.

For me its 80% wanting to look the same, but theres the 20% that people will know if i m wearing a scarf...then again everyone who i actually give a damn about knows anyway...its all very confusing and conflicting, isnt it?

Hi girls,
There is no doubt that hair-loss is a difficult side-effect with a lot of chemotherapy treatments. Not the worst in my opinion, but difficult all the same.

I found that getting a wig that fitted really well helped a great deal. It took two attempts. The first one was simply the wrong size for me. The second one was light and natural looking and a perfect fit. It made such a difference straight away. Some hairdressers can style a wig for special occasions.

There is a great range of turbans/hats/scarves available. Also fringes for wearing underneath the turbans.

Initially I tried wearing the turbans when outdoors, but later found that the wig worked best for me. I kept the turbans for wearing at home.

Remember it will grow back.

Best of luck.

Sarah

Hi there!
Had a great chat with someone about it today & she has used it twice so far & it definitely works but there is one tip she will tell everyone, and that is to make sure the cap is sitting right on your noggin all the time & keep pressing it down all the way around all the time. There was one small spot that she hadn't the cold cap not sitting on properly & she lost her hair in that spot.

Hope this helps, even if it's second hand

Hi All, I've never posted before but I've been an avid reader!! I tried the cold cap, for my first two cycles of AC, just before the second AC my hair started to fall out, not in clumps but a general thinning. After the second AC (and the cold cap) it still kept falling. The cold cap was a nice snug fit but looking back now maybe it wasn't hitting the crown of my head (where most of the loss is) enough. I put it down to lots of reasons, I had just had a baby when I was diagnosed with breast cancer (my baby was 7 weeks old) so I kind of thought that this is around the time when the hormones kick in and you lose hair anyway (unfortunately, it wasn't able to grow back due to the chemo). On another note I've just finished my 4th AC and I still have about 25-30% of my hair left, which is great because I have young kids and when I get up in the morning it's just business as usual until I have to leave the house, then I cover my head with either a scarf or a cap, I have a bit of hair peaking out the back and it just looks like I'm having a bad hair day!!! I have to say I've found the hair loss one of the hardest things to deal with, but once I spoke to my kids and they understood (kinda), it was so much easier to deal with. I think as a parent, your first concern is your children and then you. I hope I've been able to help you, what I would say is if it's offered to you - take it, if its important and your dreading the hairloss - i'd say give it a go, at least then you'll know you've tried, whether or not its successful. Good luck!!

For what it's worth lads, I asked my oncologist about the cold cap and she said it wouldn't work for me, that it didn't work with Adriamycin. So that might explain your partial hair loss on AC. Good to hear it was only partial though...

I used the cold cap when I had chemo last year - ACT for breast cancer. While my hair did thin a bit (though it wasn't that noticeable to anyone but me) I didn't lose my hair and it even started to grow again during the Taxol stage of my treatment - I even had to get it cut a few times! I know it doesn't work for everyone but if, like me, you were a bit freaked out at the thoughts of losing your hair, I do think it's definitely worth trying.

As encee said, it's important to make sure the cap is sitting properly on your head the whole time. It's not very pleasant for the first 10 or 15 minutes but once your head goes numb, it's bearable. Another tip they gave me in the hospital was to smother your hair in conditioner before using the cold cap.

Hope that helps