I Don’t Want To Lose My Hair!!!
I couldn’t bear the thought of losing my hair! I was a cancer patient but I REALLY didn’t want to look like one. This was causing me SO much anxiety and stress!
One thing that could help prevent hair loss is using cold caps. They are expensive, uncomfortable and aren’t guaranteed to work. The idea is to put your scalp into a state of hypothermia so the blood vessels constrict from the cold temperature and less meds reach your scalp which is what causes the hair loss. This same concept is used with iced socks and mittens to prevent neuropathy in the hands and feet (thankfully, I didn’t have that issue)
Some infusion centers provide a professional grade cold cap machine in their infusion room and the caps need to be fitted before hand to work. I didn’t get enough information before hand about my infusion center having one and was under the impression I had to find my own. You can rent cold caps online, which are cheaper than the machine at the medical office, but they are a pain to use.
Never the less, I wanted to try. The thought of losing my hair was causing a lot of anxiety and stress and I would do whatever I could to prevent that. I was going through enough and this was just too much! The cold caps we found online were basically caps that were lined with gel and needed to be frozen to a temperature of -38 degrees. The only way to accomplish this was dry ice. So every 3 weeks my husband got some dry ice from a local ice cream company that he found selling it and packed the caps in a cooler the night before my infusions.
Each cap stayed cold enough to use for about 20 minutes. They sent several that we would rotate every 20 to 25 minutes to keep the right temperature through my treatment (about 4 hours total). If I remember right they sent us 6. After its 20 minutes of use it got packed back in the dry ice and when it came time to use it again it was frozen again. Sometimes a little too cold. They sent a digital thermometer that we would point at the cap and pull the “trigger” to read the temperature. If it was too cold we would let it sit out for a few minutes and monitor until it was ready. This whole process kept us busy. Well, it kept him busy, I made him do it all! And thankfully he was a good sport about it. haha
The caps are secured under a swim cap then strapped tight to the scalp with elastic bands wrapping around the head and one under the chin that are meant to keep a tight fit. I really couldn’t eat or drink with them on so I would take a break with the chin strap for a few minutes to have a snack or lunch. My nurses were a little surprised I would go to all that trouble, but they way I saw it, I could do this for each of my 6 treatments (so 6 days of my life) or deal with hair loss and the time it takes to grow back which is months to years. It seemed worth a try.
Looking back I can see that it worked better directly under the straps where there was pressure and by the end I was getting some bald spots in between them. Although it was balding and growing back at the same time.
So basically, it worked where there was tight contact, but I think if I had to go back and chose again I’d use the professional system. That has a fitted cap with continuous cold water flowing through it kept at a constant temperature.
My first 2 treatments I lost quite a bit of hair. (Most people lose all of their hair after their first treatment without the cold caps.) My hair is naturally really thick so I assumed it would be insulating in the beginning until after it thinned so I wasn’t alarmed.
My 3rd and 4th treatment I didn’t really lose much hair at all, but then my 5th and 6th I did again. I wore a hat so it wasn’t noticeable to the general public but the time I was through and finished losing my hair I lost enough and it was different lengths so I did end up cutting it down to 1″ the day before my surgery. Doing this cleaned it up a lot and I didn’t have to worry about taking care of it after my surgery. I was finally ready to accept it since I knew I was done losing it and I lived in a hat for a couple months after that.
It didn’t work as well as I had hoped but I can say I was never actually bald.
My hair was dark brown (dyed blond) before chemo and it came back a salt and pepper gray. I read online to wait 4-6 months before dying it again so I waited the minimum 4 months. I hated the gray. I also have “chemo curls” now, but just from the ears down.
Hair Growth Treatment
Before my hair loss I was already looking into Chemo Girls which is a gentle method of getting hair extensions specifically for cancer patients after chemotherapy. I haven’t had short hair since kindergarten. I was not openminded to having a new look, especially when it was forced upon me and not my own decision. Yeah I can be stubborn. haha
This is also expensive and not something I actually ended up going through with, but just knowing there was an option if I was that uncomfortable with my hair was very comforting. By the time my hair was long enough for the extensions I was comfortable enough with my short hair at that at that point that I was more concerned about how the “glue” would feel and the maintenance of the extensions. However, looking into Chemo Girls (the hairdresser needs to be ‘certified’ and trained in this) got me in touch with a local hair dresser who happened to be the wife on an oncologist. She recommended a hair growth treatment that she said her clients have had incredible results with. Its a shampoo, conditioner and leave in treatment that is used together 3 times a week and is supposed to promote healthy hair regrowth and faster than normal. ***I am NOT selling this product or affiliated with it in any way, just sharing my story if you want to know***
**This is the only way I proceeded after my chemo was done so I can’t say if it worked or not because I don’t have 2 stories to tell, one where I tried it and one where I didn’t. I have nothing to compare it to. However, I used it 3 times per week until I ran out (I got the 6 month supply, but ran out of the leave in treatment after about 4 months) and my hair is back just as thick as it was before. I even used it consistently on my eyebrows and they were back in just a couple months. I have a friend who went through the same treatment (exact same meds and number of treatments) and a year later her eyebrow are still very thin.
I have had comments from other friends where they tell me they know people who went through cancer treatment and their hair came back really thin. So, it either works or for once in my life I got lucky! You can decide.