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cold cap for chemo

Cowboyboots
Cowboyboots CSN Member Posts: 1 *
edited January 2023 in Breast Cancer #1

Does anyone have directions for making a cold cap for chemo. I've looked on Amazon but don't think those featured will help me avoid hair loss.

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Comments

  • tracy24
    tracy24 CSN Member Posts: 13 Member
    #2

    I haven’t seen something you could buy like that. I’m going to be using Penguin cold cap company.

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  • runjlp
    runjlp CSN Member Posts: 3 *
    #3

    Hi Tracy24, I am also going to use penguin, heard it’s colder and more effective than paxman. Wondering what kind of cancer and what kind of chemo regimen you are doing.

    All the doctors say that you don’t lose hair with rectal cancer chemo but I know this to be NOT true…

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  • tracy24
    tracy24 CSN Member Posts: 13 Member
    #4
    https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1712878#Comment_1712878

    I had breast cancer. I did 4 rounds of AC and 4 rounds of taxol.

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  • runjlp
    runjlp CSN Member Posts: 3 *
    #5

    ok, did it work? Or have you not started? Positive vibes coming your way…

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  • tracy24
    tracy24 CSN Member Posts: 13 Member
    #6
    https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/comment/1712895#Comment_1712895

    I completed chemo last year. I did well with using the caps how your supposed to. Then as I kept doing my treatments I started slacking on it. Meaning I didn’t change them out right when I was supposed to and let them get warm. I think if I stuck to it and did it how it’s supposed to be done I would have had a lot more hair. I know people that used it and it helped. Your hair is going to fall out either way, the caps are supposed to help save some.

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  • TheMonikat
    TheMonikat CSN Member Posts: 1 *
    #7

    I'm using Penguin cold caps right now. I opted to go with a Penguin therapist. We got there at 7:30am, the first cap went on around 8am, chemo started maybe 9am, the chemo was done around noon, but we didn't leave until about 5:45pm. The office closed at 5:00pm, but we were not done and the therapist made sure I didn't get shortchanged timewise and we ended up finishing in the lobby.

    I think if you can spend the money on a therapist, it's a better situation. My therapist was working constantly (with the exception of maybe 5 minutes on each 25 min interval). He was prepping the caps, re-freezing the used cap, making sure the temperature of every section of the next cap was correct. The caps have to go on colder than needed so when they warm up they are still cold enough to be effective.

    In my limited experience, I suspect the Penguin folks have a connection to the cap; for example, my therapist had a wife who used the product and the regional manager also referenced his wife using the product. Penguin has an option where they can teach a loved one to do it instead, but after watching the process I thought there is no way my husband would have been able to be as precise. I don't think doing it yourself would be easy at all especially since you are hooked up with an IV.

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