My Onco. on Cold/Ice Caps and Scalp Cancer

PinkPearl
PinkPearl Member Posts: 280
in Breast Cancer #1
HI Sisters,

Since I am pretty bald by now (3 weeks into chemo) I guess I am reacting to my new look :)! Anyway on another site I kept getting advice to use a cold cap or ice cap like they do in Europe and I just feel like I have to warn anyone not to use them. I asked my oncologist on Monday and she said she absolutely does not approve them because she has seen innumerable cases of breast cancer of the scalp over her years as an onco in women who have used them and then later come to her for help after the fact. I just wanted to tell you all that in case someone is considering it-do look at all of the sides. I know that each person makes their own decisions and I don't want to step on any toes so forgive me if I do. BUT Losing your hair is not so bad and it nearly always comes back and it is a whole lot better than breast cancer of the scalp which I had never even heard of until Monday.

Comments

  • TraciInLA
    TraciInLA Member Posts: 1,994 Member
    #2
    I think this is an important issue, so thank you for highlighting what you learned. If someone I loved ever had to go through chemo, I would urge them not to use any kind of ice/cold cap, for exactly the reasons you're talking about. When I did chemo myself, the last thing I would have wanted was to do was anything that might cancel out any cancer-killing effects. Die, little cancer bugs, die -- no, you don't get to hide from the chemo in my scalp!

    I've shared this before here, but it usually makes everyone giggle, so I'll share it again: When I did chemo, for some reason the first place where I lost my hair was in the "southern region." So my girlfriend (oh-so-helpfully) suggested that I sit through my next infusion with an ice bag between my legs -- mainly just to see what kind of reaction we would have got from the chemo nurses!

    :-) Traci
  • joannstar
    joannstar Member Posts: 403 Member
    #3
    Thank you
    My onc feels the same way...
    I saw an old thread bumped up yesterday about this and then a new one started that disappeared very fast and I figured that someone reported it as offensive. The new thread was definitely a sales pitch and I was about to respond with the same information but by the time I wanted to, it was gone. Also the person that posted (their first post) was not listed in the member directory so perhaps they were "banned" from the site. I wanted to thank the people that maintain this site for their vigilance!
    As much as I miss my long (dyed blond) hair, I wouldn't want to take the chance. My hair is started to come in pretty fast in a mostly salt with a little pepper now (I'm about 8 weeks out of chemo)--looking like a marine with a short buzz cut--about 1/2 inch. I'm toying with the idea of going coverless very soon!
    JoAnn
  • PinkPearl
    PinkPearl Member Posts: 280
    #4
    TraciInLA said:

    I think this is an important issue, so thank you for highlighting what you learned. If someone I loved ever had to go through chemo, I would urge them not to use any kind of ice/cold cap, for exactly the reasons you're talking about. When I did chemo myself, the last thing I would have wanted was to do was anything that might cancel out any cancer-killing effects. Die, little cancer bugs, die -- no, you don't get to hide from the chemo in my scalp!

    I've shared this before here, but it usually makes everyone giggle, so I'll share it again: When I did chemo, for some reason the first place where I lost my hair was in the "southern region." So my girlfriend (oh-so-helpfully) suggested that I sit through my next infusion with an ice bag between my legs -- mainly just to see what kind of reaction we would have got from the chemo nurses!

    :-) Traci

    That is too funny!
    I can see the eye rolls now if you had done that!!!!
  • missrenee
    missrenee Member Posts: 2,136 Member
    #5
    joannstar said:

    Thank you
    My onc feels the same way...
    I saw an old thread bumped up yesterday about this and then a new one started that disappeared very fast and I figured that someone reported it as offensive. The new thread was definitely a sales pitch and I was about to respond with the same information but by the time I wanted to, it was gone. Also the person that posted (their first post) was not listed in the member directory so perhaps they were "banned" from the site. I wanted to thank the people that maintain this site for their vigilance!
    As much as I miss my long (dyed blond) hair, I wouldn't want to take the chance. My hair is started to come in pretty fast in a mostly salt with a little pepper now (I'm about 8 weeks out of chemo)--looking like a marine with a short buzz cut--about 1/2 inch. I'm toying with the idea of going coverless very soon!
    JoAnn

    Wow--I didn't know this!
    I did have an English friend tell me about this--I didn't do it. My feeling is--the hair loss is so, so temporary--it wasn't a big deal for me. And talk about easy maintenance! Right now, 7 months post last chemo, I have a really cute pixie cut that everyone says is cute.

    Hugs, Renee

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