Cooling Caps to Prevent Hair Loss

@carol1024 my infusion center had a blanket warmer. I was very comfortable and never needed a blanket. They also had snacks and plain saltines & ginger snap cookies, ginger ale for nausea and other fruit drinks and sugar free beverages too. Very nice selection 😁

@baravelli This is a very clever idea. I love it and will suggest it to my sister. Thank you!

I had a year of chemo.I didn't use a cold cap. I lost my hair, but it started coming back in about 4 months. It was curly and the best hair I have ever had. The curls disappeared after a few hairuts and I still miss them.. My hair is good now. I've let it grow long so I can wear it back which makes life so much easier. I was 78 wheen I lost my hair. Now I'm 85. I hated wigs. I mostly wore scarves.

@dpcaring4 I used fabric glue so I could wash it. I believe it could be stitched into and encased in a band of stretch fabric using a sewing machine & a row of wide but short zig zag stitches to secure it as well.

And where fo you get tge tiny rubber bands? Drug store?

@sabwal, you may also be interested in this blog post from Mayo's Cancer Education team:
- Mayo Clinic Q and A: Cold cap therapy can reduce hair loss caused by chemotherapy https://connect.mayoclinic.org/blog/cancer-education-center/newsfeed-post/mayo-clinic-q-and-a-cold-cap-therapy-can-reduce-hair-loss-caused-by-chemotherapy-1/

When do you start chemo?

@colleenyoung Tuesday is my first treatment. I'm going to give it a try. I chose Paxman. I'm so sensitive to cold so I'm adding a physical challenge to what feels like a mountain of physical challenges. I'm concerned about neuropathy & have bought cooling socks & gloves too. I think I'll try double-gloving & compression socks to mix it up.
Has anyone tried these methods for reducing neuropathy?

I helped my sister through breast cancer treatments. She bought a cold cap and put it on when we got to the clinic and removed it after each session. She lost very little hair. It was a little annoying to wear though, she kept poking at the sides all the time. She said it was really cold. But she was glad she had. At that time cost her $500 and she donated it. That’s all I know. I hope it helps a little.

@sabwal
During my first chemo series (carboplatin, Taxol, keytruda) I used the cold gloves and booties. To keep the gloves/booties cold I brought a cooler with a really tight lid and subzero ice packs. You freeze the gloves/booties the night before your infusion so they get good and cold, I froze them for two nights prior to the infusion with the freezer temp turned down to below zero and had two sets of the socks/gloves. My husband was able to go to each infusion and helped me switch out the gloves/booties when the ice warmed up. The ice packs are actually able to refreeze the gel packs in the small cooler we used.
https://arctic-ice.com/products/tundra-series
I did get foot neuropathy even with the icing but it resolved to tingling in the balls of my feet and toes and does not effect my balance, walking, or exercise capabilities. One pinkie on my left hand had tingling and that resolved within months after the chemo series ended. My thoughts are that success was greater with the hands as they are thinner appendages than feet and thus easier to cool down and slow down blood flow to.
I wore the gloves and booties for the entire appointment and thin socks on my feet. The chemo Nurses tried to tell me that only Taxol causes neuropathy. The drug disclosure information for each chemo drug mentions neuropathy as a side effect so I figured it would not hurt to do it for the full infusion time.
To make it easier to take bathroom breaks I wore slip on sandals since your feet are bare once you take off the booties.
Unfortunately I had a reoccurrence and am doing the series again but this time with Jemperli instead of Keytruda. In addition to icing I have added compression socks and disposable nitrile gloves. The gloves are one size too small to provide compression and the support hose are of high compression (30-40mmhg). I have had two treatments so far, the hands are good and the feet only slightly worse so fingers and toes crossed that continues!

@beebe what about hair loss and cold capping? Worked to begin with for me.

3 months after cold capping hair still shedding. Had a long break 3+ months since last chemo but have to resume chemo asap 😬