Naturalista Trish G. was recently diagnosed with cancer and when faced with the inevitable hair loss that is part and parcel of some chemo drugs, she decided to try a chemo cold cap, which is touted as a device that can significantly reduce hair loss during chemotherapy. Trish shared her experience with me.
Dianne: Would you say that the cold cap is really working?
Trish: I would say that the chemo caps worked best they could. I knew it was not 100% guaranteed. I lost a lot of hair but I think when I undo my twist you can’t really tell the hair loss due to overall volume. I think it works better on less kinky hair.
Dianne: What were your thoughts when you first learned that you would need to undergo chemo and would lose your hair?
Trish: All I knew was chemo meant hair loss. I kept telling everyone I am ready for that and I wasn’t worried. I am the one in my group that consistently cuts my hair really short and I have said that losing my hair was the least of my worries at this point.
Dianne: What made you decide to try the chemo cap and is it worth it?
Trish: Well when it came down to it, I really was nervous to lose my hair and it was really because I wasn’t feeling like a woman any more. My breast had been cut, and I was feeling sickly and it was winter I couldn’t go outside much nor dress up. So the idea of losing my hair was really starting to affect me. I equated beauty with my hair. So I mentioned it to my caregivers and before the end of a meeting I was sitting in, they had collected close to $1000 to help me rent the Cold Caps for a few months. I do think it was worth it.
Dianne: What will you do if you should lose more hair than you anticipated? (Get a wig, wear a scarf or go bald).
Trish: I did lose a lot of hair, more then I thought I would. Funny my hair is covered more times than not, so I am very used to wearing wigs and scarves and even with the caps, I kept my hair securely covered and moisturized through the entire process. Hindsight is 20/20 for me. Doing the caps cost money and takes time. It really is a huge effort for the patient and the caregiver. Seeing how much hair I did lose and the effort we had to put out I would not chose to do it again but it was something I wanted to try and I did.
Dianne: What advice would you give other women faced with chemo related hair loss?
Trish: I would say that now I truly understand that losing your hair is not the worse thing in the world. It grows back or hey maybe it doesn’t there are always wigs and scarves and those that love you will love you regardless of the length of your hair. However, you need to prepare yourself for the loss, I didn’t experience as drastically as others but it if comes out like it did from say my armpits, be ready to see it come out in droves, like using Nair. So the decision is once you see it starting get ahead of it. I hear its really liberating for some to have a party and CUT IT ALL OFF. I am just here to say there is LIFE after your HAIR LOSS. I truly do not let things like that bother me at all any more. So many things I used to care about I do not let phase me at all. I know I was put on this earth to help others through this journey I am going through. So if I can help in anyway just email.