question re hair loss-borrow or cost of cold caps or wigs

Hi Kelly

While I don't live in RI and can't help you with sharing cold caps etc, thought I would respond regarding wigs etc

I had several wigs when going thru ACT treatment a couple of years ago.   I had one real expensive wig - about 400-   it was synthetic , but lace front and looked and felt pretty natural.   The lace front itched me a lot though.  I had one that I paid about $40 for , that was lace front and not as soft, but I ended up liking the best.  It didn't have a moveable part though , but looked good under baseball caps etc.   The third, I ordered online, tried to match my natural hair color and was very soft, could part it etc, and paid about $200 for .   It was monofilament.  I liked it, but ended up not liking the color so much.   But it was nice. 

Really , they all looked real.  I never felt like they did , because I knew it was wig, but other people who didn't know me or that I had cancer, had no idea I was wearing a wig.    I was very scared of losing my hair as well.   I dreaded it so much and thought about it so much , that when it actually came time and it happenned, I actually became a little relieved to just get it over with.   Crazy huh?

As far as cold caps,  I looked into to them and at first really wanted to try them.  My onc said no way.   He said they don't protect against the risk of scalp mets and wanted to be sure that my chem0 ( I was stage 3 as well with good number of nodes positive) reached every place it could.  

Good luck to you!  This will all be over in no time and you will be back to living a normal life!  

You can try wigs on and then order the same wig online for less.  I had a Raquel Welch versa-fiber wig, same color as my hair, that could be blown dry or straightened with a flat iron.  They are heat tolerant, up to a certain temperature.  I took it in to my hairdresser and she cut and shaped it so it looked like my style - just a bit shorter. I also had a hairpiece made from my own, very long, pre-chemo hair.  My hairdresser cut 8" ponytails off and I sent them into this website and had an "underhair" made.  It had a fabric top so I had to wear a hat, but it was more comfortable than the wig, and it was my own hair.  I wore ball caps and fedoras.  They can make the same for you out of synthetic or human hiar if your hair is not long enough.  Here is the site:

www.hatswithhair.com

You can also get a free wig through the American Cancer Society's Look Good, Feel Better program, in some locations.  Here are a couple of other sites that give away hats/scarves:

http://www.goodwishesscarves.org/

http://breastcancer.about.com/od/wigsandcancertreatment/a/free_wigs_for_cancer.htm

There's some misinformation here about cold caps - the risk of scalp mets is infinitesimal - and about the same whether cold caps are used or not - and although ACT is a tough regimen for saving hair, there are plenty of women on that regimen who have had success. But for kellyga, if you're starting chemo today (I assume) it's too late to make the arrangements anyway. Most cold cappers use Penguin cold caps, which do cost about $500 per month to rent. The monthly cost goes down quite a bit if you need them longer than 3 months. There is a brand of cold caps you can buy, Elastogels, which are quite a bit cheaper, but the consensus is that they don't work as well. For anyone reading this who is considering cold caps, please check in with the active cold cap thread in this "help me get through treatment" section.