Cancer and our Hair, can we fight one without loosing the other?
What is possible, who has access to the treatment and well, how effective is it?
Almost 43,500 people in Ireland get cancer each year. As people are given this devastating diagnosis it can be hard to take in and retain the mountain of information and appointments that follow.
Once a person has been given their diagnosis and treatment plan they may or may not be given information about a COLD CAP or SCALP COOLING.
This treatment must be started with your first chemotherapy session, if a person has any interest in trying it they must ask for it before they begin their chemotherapy.
What is a Cold Cap?
Cooling your head in certain ways during chemotherapy can reduce or prevent hair loss. It can reduce blood flow to your scalp-this can stop the chemotherapy drugs affecting your hair.
For the cold cap to work your temperature needs to be kept low while chemotherapy drugs are in your blood.
If you are having chemotherapy as an outpatient it may make your appointment longer, you may be there for up to 3 hours longer per appointment.
Some things to know:
- The Cold Cap is only effective with certain drugs.
- It is not suitable during treatment for certain types of cancer.
- Some hospitals do not have facilities for scalp cooling.
- The Cap needs to be secure and touching each part of the scalp for it to have the best chance of being effective.
- Although some people have experienced success through use of the cold cap, other people still experience hair loss, thinning or weakening.
- The use of warm blankets and hot drinks can help with discomfort during treatment.