Breast cancer patients at UW Carbone Cancer Clinics can use the Paxman Scalp Cooling System to help retain their hair during chemotherapy.
UW is the first hospital in the upper Midwest to use the Paxman scalp cooling system, which has shown in clinical trials to help reduce chemotherapy induced hair loss.
The Paxman scalp cooling system circulates a fluid through a silicone cap worn by a patient during chemotherapy treatment. The cap lowers the temperature of the scalp to between 64 and 71 degrees.
“The idea is that, if you can basically cool the scalp with a cooling fluid while patients are getting chemotherapy, what happens is the blood vessels that go to the scalp kind of constrict, which prevents chemotherapy from getting to the scalp,” said Dr. Ruth O’Regan, a breast cancer oncologist with UW Health.
Channel 3000 reports on the story.
