Penguin Cap Therapy

Renee Rodin

Hello,
Has anyone out there had any experience with the Penguin Cold Caps? If so how did you manage your hair in between washings and could you wear a pony tail? Any help would be greatly appreciated!! Also, did you have to wear the cap for three hours after the Chemo was finished?
Thank you,
Renee

Margeaux

Penguin Cap
Renee:
Years ago, before I ever dreamed I was going to have breast cancer myself, I asked a friend of mine about hair loss from her experience with BC some 25 years ago. (She since passed away - heart attack). She told me her doctor was way ahead of the curve. One of the things he had her do was to wear an icy cold cap on her head, I believe she said during and for some hours after chemo and she never lost her hair. When I went through chemo I lost all my hair, since her experience was 25 years ago I thought it was no longer around. Wished I'd have done some research into that.
Take care and hugs,
Margeaux

LoveBabyJesus

NO WAY
Hi Renee -- I have heard of this famous cap before. And this is what I know. If you hair doesn't fall, this means the chemo doesn't reach your brain. This is why I decided not to wear it. If I go through the hassle of getting chemo, I want it to hit my entire body. Don't worry about the hair. It will grow back, healthy. And you would get the treatment your entire body needs.

Do some more research about it. Ask your Drs. I vote for NO HAT. So you get treated entirely.

Good luck! There's light at the end of the tunnel.

AngieD

LoveBabyJesus said:

NO WAY
Hi Renee -- I have heard of this famous cap before. And this is what I know. If you hair doesn't fall, this means the chemo doesn't reach your brain. This is why I decided not to wear it. If I go through the hassle of getting chemo, I want it to hit my entire body. Don't worry about the hair. It will grow back, healthy. And you would get the treatment your entire body needs.

Do some more research about it. Ask your Drs. I vote for NO HAT. So you get treated entirely.

Good luck! There's light at the end of the tunnel.

That's what my oncologist
That's what my oncologist said also. She said using the cold caps could result in brain mets.
So, I agree, no hats--let that chemo do it's job everywhere!
Angie

MAJW

AngieD said:

That's what my oncologist
That's what my oncologist said also. She said using the cold caps could result in brain mets.
So, I agree, no hats--let that chemo do it's job everywhere!
Angie

Cold caps...
From the research I did on cold caps, they aren't recommended....plus you have to BUY it and they are over $300.00 ! Insurance doesn't won't cover it... I'm bald for the second time right now....yes, losing your hair is traumatic, but as they say " it's only hair".....and I promise, it will grow back! Losing one's hair is a small price to pay, for saving your life....a neighbor of mine refused to have chemo because she didn't want to lose her hair...she passed away a year ago......

Before I lost my hair the first time, I went to a wig shop that's been in business For over 30 years, owned by the sweetest Asian woman, who knows EVERYTHING about wigs...I wanted her to see what my real hair looked like...she fitted me with a wig that looks just like my hair! Very few people knew it was a wig! It even has a " scalp" ....and it's synthetic...if it's human hair, it has to be fixed just your own hair...way to much trouble when undergoing treatment...and get a prescription from your oncologist for it and your insurance will pay for it...I'm back to being bald due to radiation to my brain...so my wig is back in service! I just wash it once a week with wig shampoo, role it up in a towel, shake it out then put it on my wig stand..Ready to go the next day! I don't wear it at home...just little hats...so I don't get cold...

Good luck with your decision...and I wish you the best
Hugs, Nancy

ksf56

I hated losing my hair to no
I hated losing my hair to no end but I saw it as the chemo working. Some of my hair fell out fast and others took longer. I was so worried that the chemo wasn't doing its thing that it actually helped ease my mind when it all came out. I didn't want to go thru all that chemo and not have it work. I cut my hair very short so it wouldn't be so traumatic and I had control over something. I really didn't miss the rest of the body hair. I could do without the leg hair for life. I'm now in the middle of everything growing out. It's like a rebirth. My hair looks pretty good if I do say so myself. It's a different color and texture - it's white and a little curly. My hair was blond and straight. Someone asked me if I was going to color my hair and I said NO - I earned every one of these white hairs. It's the new me!

Best to you! I'll be interesting to see what you chose.
Karen

Angie2U

AngieD said:

That's what my oncologist
That's what my oncologist said also. She said using the cold caps could result in brain mets.
So, I agree, no hats--let that chemo do it's job everywhere!
Angie

I didn't have chemo, so, no
I didn't have chemo, so, no penguin cap. I haven't heard that the cold caps could result in brain mets. Just wishing you good luck with chemo and praying for no side effects.


Hugs, Angie

Hortense

I just used Penguin Cold
I just used Penguin Cold Caps from May through July and was able to keep my hair. They do work. My doctor who heads a major breast cancer center in NYC already had 38 women using them and more were starting as I was ending. I met several who had finished who had luxuriously full heads of long wavy hair still. One told me she used them to keep her hair so that her kids wouldn't see "sick mommy" each time they looked at her. We all agreed that keeping our hair made us feel normal and gave us a very positive outlook.

The caps are widely used in Europe and widely misunderstood in the US, as reflected by comments here that they cause brain or scalp mets which simply isn't true. There have been many clinical studies done on them in Europe which have proven their safety. The caps are so commonly used in Britain that their national health insurance - their ObamaCare, which covers every citizen - covers the cost of the caps which it certainly wouldn't if they caused brain or scalp mets.

The caps simply cool down the scalp so that blood carrying the chemicals does not reach the hair follicles and destroy the hairs' roots. The caps are really cold and do require having a helper to change them on a regular basis, plus they have to be rented as they are not for sale. Anyone interested in learning more about saving hair can go to: www.rapunzelproject.org which is a non-profit dedicated to helping women save their hair during chemo. It had video clips of news stories about women who have saved their hair and links to the Penguin Cold Cap site. It's definitely worth looking into. I am glad I did.