Whenever a patient decides to scalp cool, several questions are bound to go through their head. “What will my scalp cooling experience be like?”, “Will I have to wear a wig or head covering”, or “will I manage to achieve good hair retention?” While all of these questions are important considerations when making a decision to scalp cool, something that can often fall into the background in the journey of cancer and scalp cooling is the value of a strong support system.
In the case of Stella, a breast cancer patient in the United States, she tells us that her husband was “the best support.” Her husband came to all her treatment appointments. With his help, and the “How To” videos available on coldcap.com, Stella was able to, “put the cap on tight and get a great fit”. After adapting to the initial cold sensation she felt while scalp cooling, she continued with her treatment and was able to “look normal at the most tragic time of (her) life.”
Cassie, another breast cancer patient in the United States, reiterates the importance of family, friends and work colleagues in the scalp cooling journey. She reflects, “They were all there for me, checked in… my co-workers even made breast cancer scrub caps [theatre caps] and wore them every Wednesday when I had treatment!” For Cassie, just the simple fact that she had such a strong community around her for her chemotherapy and scalp cooling journey “meant the world” to her.
Heidi, an ovarian cancer patient from the UK, told Paxman that all her family were massively supportive during her Chemotherapy and cold capping journey especially her mother. Heidi goes on to say that she was in her final weeks of University when she began her treatment, and she reflects that her friends helped her look her best for end of term events. They did this through giving Heidi a variety of different heatless hairstyles so that she could “look like everyone else.” Heidi says that that she deliberately sought the company of friends who would not treat her differently just because of her illness. The fact that she was able to retain her hair during treatment and had a strong support system around her helped Heidi go about her life in a relatively routine manner.
While a strong support system of family and friends will not determine the ultimate success of chemotherapy and scalp cooling treatment, a few kind words and an upbeat attitude will always improve a patients’ overall experience and attitude. We do recognise that not everyone has a strong personal support network, so the Cold Cap website and our Paxman Facebook patient support group are always here.
