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Cold Capping Long Term Results
Hello,
I am recently diagnosed with early breast cancer and have been going down a rabbit hole about cold capping. My oncologist supports anyone that wants to try it, but she hasn’t seen it be too successful. I would use Penguin as my clinic doesn’t have the setup for the others. The other oncologist promotes it a bit more as she had a patient with permanent alopecia after her chemo regimen, which is rare but possible.
Those aren’t even my concerns, really. I am wondering if anyone has stories of long-term safety after using a cold cap? Any recurrence? If so, does anyone feel like it could be contributed to cold capping? Any regrets or great success stories? Thanks, in advance, for any help with this.
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I used a cold cap too in 1999. Can’t say that I had safety issues. But I additionally had acupuncture right after each chemo and also went to a alopecia specialist who treated my hair weekly with potions of which I had no clue what they were. But I had actually been referred to him by my oncologist. All in all I didn’t loose my hair, it was just thinner and more brittle. I have a hair phobia, used to faint at hairdressers even as a child. So I put a lot of effort into keeping some kind of hair on my head! Good luck to you and may you be totally cleared of cancer.
I did cold capping 3 years ago, using Penguin cold caps. I lost very little hair. I was on Taxol for 12 weekly treatments. I had read that the chance of recurrence to the scalp is extremely low. Since I was early stage I wasn’t too concerned about it.
Cold capping using a manual system like Penguin is not for everyone. It is a lot of work and you need to be dedicated and follow all the hair care instructions for at least 6 months after your treatment ends for best results. You also need a dedicated helper and a reliable source for slabs of dry ice.
I didn’t find the coldness intolerable. Cold capping will also add a few hours to your treatments, so it can be a lengthy day. My infusion team was very accommodating and let me stay there as long as I needed.
I was happy with my results and glad I did it. Good luck to you if you decide to do it. If you have additional questions please don’t hesitate to ask.
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1 ReactionThank you for the reply! Wow! Back in 1999, amazing! I just hear some oncologists don’t support cold capping due to the theoretical possibility of cancer cells surviving. The Paxman and Dignicap machines have this info on their web sites as a risk to be aware of and more studies need to be done. I would love to retain some hair, just can’t decide if it’s worth it to me. Thanks again, and best wishes of health to you.
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1 ReactionThank you for your reply, helpful to hear. Best wishes to you for continued good health.
@allygal and others, you may be interested in these related discussions:
- Share your experiences with cold capping, socks and mitts & chemo https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/chemo-cold-cap/
- Anyone tried cooling systems with chemo to help prevent hair loss?https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/hair-lose-with-chemo/
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1 ReactionI was cancer free until 2022 and then was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, metastasised into bones and liver. So I don’t think the cold cap had any link to it in my case. Despite being on medications that could have hair loss as a result, I’ve so far kept mine. Acupuncture, homeopathic tincture and Champo hair growing serum with a massage brush might have contributed to this. Also supplements like kelp, vitamin D and calcium, selenium. I told you I am obsessive about my hair! You’d think I’d have more things to worry about, haha.