Cold Caps Users Past and Present, to Save Hair

hope49

wpmoon, what helped me get a better shampoo was to mix some shampoo with water in one of the bottles used for hair dye. The nozzle really allowed me to get the suds everywhere I needed it then I just gently patted it and rinsed with tepid water from a handheld sprayer. Hope this helps

jenlee

Hi Cold Cap Users,

You might have seen this, but in case you didn't, look what just made the NY Times:

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/03/09/keeping-y...

I'm glad for all of you that you got to use cold caps. I didn't hear about them until about halfway through chemo and after TAC x 8, I ended up being one whose hair is growing back SO slowly:

mdg

Thanks for sharing.  I saw it and am so glad that more information is getting out there.  I am sorry Jenlee for your hair results - I have two friends with the same problem from taxotere.  They both were discouraged about using caps by their doctors and were told they would have beautiful hair again after chemo.  Now both have horribly thin hair and bald spots that will never improve. 

Caps are not really about vanity like most outsiders may think....we want to have a sense of privacy and also prevent permanent hair loss.  Why doctors won't share this information with patients is beyond me.  I find it so frustrating at the misinformation out there about the caps.  Keep spreading the word ladies!

 

BBwithBC45

I have to admit - for me some of it is about vanity, I cannot stand myself in short hair, let alone I cannot imagine how I would handle being bald. The biggest fear though is going bald permanently, although with Taxol it doesn't happen often, does it?

MIMomma1

Goldenpaws--Good luck tomorrow Kim on your last round of chemo!! WooHoo!! I'll be thinking of you and sending good thoughts and prayers your way. You've been very kind and supportive during my constant freaks and I very, very much appreciate it. I bet you're a great mom. Congrats on being done! --Bethany

Gatomal

it's okay for it to be about vanity, but it's more complex than that. Cancer is big assault on your person, not to mention your feeling of security in your health. Before, one's death was somewhere far off in the distance. Now, it feels imminent, even though it may still be far off in the distance, we won't know how far off until we get there.

"We can maybe save your life, but you'll get to be ugly, really ugly for a year or so. You'll gain weight with the chemo and the hormones, cry a lot, have no eyebrows, or eyelashes, lose your hair, we'll cut off a Breast or two, your vagina will dry up. What's the problem?"

I am not saying that those who don't cold cap, or lose hair are ugly. I think women who have lost their hair are wearing outside evidence of their strength and all of the changes that a life-threatening illness brings. I'm saying for me, this is what I heard, and my interpretation of side effects. Just as I would take antiemetics for nausea and vomiting, I would try anything to reduce or counteract well-known SEs. This is just another strategy for counteracting an SE. A strategy that also allows you to look like you are not going through what you are, and share it when and how you want. It's also a way to do something active and try and be in control at a time when you most assuredly, are not.

RainDew

+1 gatomal and mdg

Cold caps helped me keep my privacy, and I am convinced I felt better thru tx because when i brushed my teeth I didn't see a sick person. When I got on the subway, no one jumped up to give me a seat (this may or may not have been a good thing :-). When I went to work (which I did thru tx) other than my close colleagues, I didn't have to explain everything (I found telling people about the Cancer very draining - it was hard for me to manage their reactions).

Now that I am finished, it's been much easier to get back to normal life too.

Makes me so sad that everyone is not offered this option.

MIMomma1

I agree wholeheartedly with what Gatomal and RainDew have just expressed so wonderfully. The only thing I would add is that it also has helped keep things "normal" for my three children (7, 11 and 13).

Jaejk5

I'm also in the cold capping process for those reasons. Is it about vanity, maybe a little, but it is more about getting on with my life and not looking in a mirror remembering that this journey will always be looking back at me. Who is to say that my hair would come back??? No one knows for sure until it is too late to do anything about it. Well said ladies!!!! People think it is for my vanity, I think of it as part of my santity.

goldenpawsKim

MIMomma - thank you for your kind words and thinking of me tomorrow. Finally, I'll be able to ring that bell once and for all after my last treatment (while looking like a clown with my cold cap on lol) I'm happy to have helped make things less stressful in your life. My time to pay it forward. And the best news of all .... I STILL HAVE HAIR!! Thanks again for your post. So sweet of you.

How are things going??

♡Kim

Dakjo

Goldenpaws Kim - I wish you all the best tomorrow! You have been an inspiration since I joined the site, as you were always one treatment ahead of me (to the day). I'll have my third treatment as you complete your last. It's a blessing to still have hair and to have been calmed by your hair shedding experiences. They reiterated that everything would be ok. Congratulations in advance and thank you for your posts!

Suladog

goldenpaws,

Good luck and blessings on your last round of chemo tomorrow, and also thanks to you and everyone here for this network of support

Leslienva

Jaejk: I really like that slogan--it's not for vanity it's for my sanity! You should add that to your profile. I know keeping my hair kept me from freaking out over all the other side effects. It's sad that more women don't know about cold capping. Maybe the NY Times article will help.

JoeyJamesMom

Hi, girls :-)

A friend sent me this url today:

https://www.yahoo.com/beauty/undergoing-chemothera...

I am so glad that this information about the cold caps is getting out there!

Hope you all have a great day.

Lynda

goldenpawsKim

I did it. Done. Over. Thank God for all you girls giving me the love & support I needed to get through this ordeal. Yes, the cold caps worked ... Thank you, thank you ♡ Kim

mdg

Congrats Kim!  You look great!!!

 

RainDew

yay Kim! Looking fantastic!! Welcome to the Other Side :-)

BBwithBC45

Congratulations, Kim! You look beautiful!

Gatomal

take some deep breaths goldenpaws. It's a big deal. It took a few days for it to sink in. Cleaning off those caps and sending them back was a really good feeling. Congratulations! A few food cries really helped me process it. Oh and going jewelry shopping helped. Lol. I gently brushed my hair today. I'm so afraid still to do anything harsh to it. Would love to get a trim soon. How about you

Dakjo

Congratulations Kim! You look great! Is that a breast cancer symbol on your shirt? It looks like the L is replaced with the symbol. Either way, I like it!

dancetrancer

Oh Kim congratulations! You look wonderful! So happy to see another cold cap sister finish the process!

Leslienva

Congrats Kim!! Glad to see the cold caps worked!

Jaejk5

So excited for you, Kim. Your hair looks great. Wow, there is an end to this!!!!!!

goldenpawsKim

Dakjo - yes, it says FEARLESS with the breast cancer symbol!! the shirt is from Life is Good. Right now, it really is. Just took my LAST cap off. I'm Free! Thanks girls for all the kind notes. Again, the love & support on here is AMAZING!! Best of luck to all my other cold cap sisters especially my aweome buddy, pch!! ♡Kim

MIMomma1

Kim--You did it!! And look at all that hair! As my kids say, Awesome Sauce!

Suladog

congratulations, you look gorgeous!! You're an example to all of us in the midst of this capping adventure! I've got #7 tomorrow....then 5 more to go

DaniellaD

Kim - Wow! You hair looks beautiful and you look gorgeous. I'm so glad happy for you! You can stop holding your breath and finally exhale.

Suladog

another cold capping success story! You look amazing Kim, congratulations with being done with this. I'm going for #7 tomorrow then 5 more and goodbye cold caps. I'd rather say bye bye cold caps than bye bye hair!

hope49

Yay, Kim!!!!! You are now PFC, with your hair! So happy for you...time to box up the caps and take your life back (and your freezer LOL). You look great

JeniferE

Congratulations, Kim. Hooray!

I am 3 months Pfc, getting my second trim next week. Hair is thin and needs highlights. I see hair growing in adding to fullness. I think I lost about 50% of my hair, so I notice the lack of thickness, but no one else does.

To add to the reasons discussion, vanity is there, as is the issue of privacy. I also feel that keeping my hair helped me stay healthier during treatment and will help with recovery. I felt/feel less self conscious, so I go out and exercise more. With cancer not so obvious, I am less hesitant about going out and interacting with others. Cold caps helped me psychologically and emotionally, as I tell my doctors and anyone else who is interested