What To Know About Cold Caps For Hair Loss
- If your chemotherapy regimen includes Taxol, your hair may likely fall out.
- Hair loss can be upsetting. It helps to remember that often hair grows back when treatment stops.
- Cold caps and scalp cooling systems can help women keep some, or quite a bit, of their hair during chemotherapy.
- Wigs are also an option and are typically covered by insurance.
Most women diagnosed with ovarian cancer struggle with treatment planning and thinking about what comes next. Hair loss is a natural source of anxiety.
Typically, your initial treatment will include a combination of surgery and chemotherapy. If your chemo regimen includes paclitaxel (brand name Taxol), which is commonly used for ovarian cancer, it's more than likely that your hair will fall out.
Read More For many women, hair loss can be a blow to self-esteem. "Honestly (hair loss) is what women identify as being a cancer patient and makes them look like a cancer patient," says
Dr. Erin Crane, gynecologic oncologist with Atrium Health in Charlotte, North Carolina. It's completely normal to feel upset about losing your hairand it helps to know that hair often grows back after treatment stops. In the meantime, there are steps you can take to make the experience less distressing. Cold caps and
scalp cooling systems may help some women keep some or quite a bit of their hair during chemotherapy. The caps, which are tightly fitting and strap on helmet-style, are filled with a gel coolant that's chilled to between -15 to -40 degrees Fahrenheit. They work by narrowing the blood vessels beneath the skin of the scalp, reducing the amount of chemotherapy medicine that reaches the hair follicles, which can make the hair less likely to fall out. The cold also decreases the activity of the hair follicles, which slows down cell division and makes the follicles less affected by the chemotherapy medicine. The process requires some effort on the part of the patient, because you have to bring your cap with you and it needs to be in a cooler, or special freezer. And there is a financial cost, says Crane. Plus, it take a big commitment to tolerate the coldness. Some women find the caps give them a headache. And they can make you very cold, so if you want to tough it out, dress warmly and bring warm blankets.
The other option is to buy a wig, and the good news is that insurance companies typically cover the cost. If you think you might want a wig, it’s a good idea to buy it before treatment begins or at the start. Cancer.org suggests asking if the wig can be adjusted as you might need a smaller wig as you lose hair. To match hair color, they recommend cutting a swatch from the top front of your head, where hair is lightest.
While hair loss can be very upsetting, many patients choose to lean into the experience. Their attitude is, I’m going through this, I'm up for the fight and this is my battle scar. And remember, hair loss is only temporary. It will grow back after your treatment ends.
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