Penguin Caps

• By shorekat
• Reply 3693322
• January 10, 2013 at 1:20 pm
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Others will give you better/more advice. The cold closes the capillaries in our heads/brains, and thereby reducing the blood flow with the chemo in it... and I have seen advice against it, as while it does protect the hair follicles from sure death, the question arises about not "treating" possible cancer cells roaming the brain too... one might say- hair grows back... Best wishes to you both.

• By trackgirl
• Reply 3693834
• January 10, 2013 at 4:07 pm
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I heard of people using these but I have not. I've lost my hair 3 times. It grows back quickly and the thought of having something cold on my head just doesn't do it for me. You get very chilly with no hair, that was enough for me. Good luck!

• By 3978bee
• Reply 3694234
• January 10, 2013 at 6:33 pm
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If you go online you will be able to read a lot about the cold caps. I researched them. They are expensive and painful - it's really cold. Freezing your head for hours is painful. It's a real production from what I read.

• By ImBeatingIt
• Reply 3694283
• January 10, 2013 at 6:58 pm
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I have a friend who did it for BC chemo. She never lost her hair, and she is convinced it prevented/lessened chemo brain by reducing any crossing of the blood/brain barrier.

• By xanthic
• Reply 3694288
• January 10, 2013 at 7:00 pm
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Yes, I used cold caps for my second line chemo last spring. I used a competitor of Penguin because it was less expensive. It was $249 per session of chemo. It worked just fine and I had no loss of hair, just some thinning. I will say that, as the scalp cools and goes into hypothermia, it HURTS. The pain last no more than five minutes, sometimes less. Best to all.

• By mgfit
• Reply 3710568
• January 16, 2013 at 10:10 am
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I did use them for breast cancer. There are lots of ladies on the www.breastcancer.org website that have used them with success. Here is a link to my blog with photos of my hair:
http://breastcancerwontdefineme.blogspot.com/

You can contact me through my blog if you have questions. I am VERY glad I used them. It was not about vanity - it was about privacy and dignity while going through a cancer diagnosis and treatment. I looked completely normal to everyone....no one knew I was going through cancer or chemo because I kept my hair. I researched them extensively and there is about a 1% risk of scalp mets with their use....the potential serious side effects rate from the chemo I had were much higher than that!

• By Kathryn6
• Reply 3711340 · In reply to 3710568 by mgfit
• January 16, 2013 at 2:17 pm
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Thanks for your reply, I had actually already come across your blog through some search engine. She started using them last week and today is her second session of chemo. She is having chemo on a weekly basis, so it does seem a little overwhelming to her to think of going through this every 7 days. But, for now, I think keeping her hair is important to her, so we are wanting and willing to do whatever it takes for her.

• By Kathryn6
• Reply 3711392 · In reply to 3711340 by Kathryn6
• January 16, 2013 at 2:33 pm
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I don't know what mets are, can you explain?

• By mgfit
• Reply 3711526
• January 16, 2013 at 3:19 pm
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metastisis of cancer to the scalp. Please wish your sister good luck! If she wants to connect with other women using them, have her visit www.breastcancer.org because there are some other gals using them right now and there is lots of good advice from experienced cold cap users there. I hope all goes well!!!

Maria