The official launch at the University of Huddersfield saw the Oastler Building, illuminated purple to mark the occasion.
The new service will now allow the UK’s 28 specialist units access to scalp cooling with no cost to the patient, hospital, or trust.
Despite 98% of UK adult cancer units already having Paxman scalp cooling machines, young people aged between 13 and 24 cannot use the ground-breaking treatment. This is because they are treated on separate TYA units away from adult wards.
It is not beneficial for the units to purchase their own permanent systems as not all young people receiving chemotherapy will be applicable for scalp cooling, as this depends on the type of cancer they have. Only those being treated for solid tumour cancers such as breast, cervical or testicular cancer can use it.
Consequently, this sadly means that every month there is a group of young adults at each of the TYA sites for whom scalp cooling would be possible but don’t have access to it. They have no choice but to lose their hair during chemotherapy treatment – a reality that both The Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust and Paxman desperately want to change.
The new service will see Paxman providing a concierge service direct to the applicable patients’ TYA unit and completely free of charge with no financial or administrative burden to either the patient or the NHS.
Clinical staff will be given comprehensive training, ensuring they know exactly how to use the Paxman Scalp Cooling System, including cap fitting and efficacy to help get the best possible results. A selection of caps will be provided to act as a sizing kit to measure what size cap each patient needs.
The system will then be delivered to the hospital, along with the patient’s bespoke cap in a personal Cap Kit Bag for them to use for the duration of their treatment.
Cancer is the most common cause of non-accidental death in teenagers and young adults in the UK. Every single day in the UK, 7 young people aged between 13 and 24 will be told that they have cancer.
Helen Mervill from The Laura Crane Youth Cancer Trust said: “Young people tell us regularly how devastating it is for them to lose their hair during chemo as it is an external sign to their friends, family, and the outside world that they are ill. We have already carried out a scalp cooling trial using the Paxman Scalp Cooling System in young adult units in Sheffield, Liverpool, and Leicester, which was extremely successful. The feedback we received from a lot of young people was they wanted to take back some control by having the choice to keep their hair.”
Claire Paxman, Director of Strategic Initiatives, said: “Our technology was developed when my mum, Sue Paxman, experienced first-hand the trauma of chemotherapy-induced hair loss. As a family we want to do everything possible to ensure everyone – whatever age they are – has access to scalp cooling and this scheme. It is amazing to be able to work with Laura Crane on this project and make scalp cooling a reality for young people in the UK. It’s our way of giving something back to the community.”
