Jonesboro, Arkansas – A Jonesboro cancer clinic sheds light on a shivering cold treatment that helps some chemotherapy patients maintain their hair in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
All chemotherapy patients at the NEA Baptist Cancer Center are eligible for scalp cooling treatments and cold caps. Elizabeth Sneed, a nurse practitioner, stated that no patients are currently utilizing the gadget.
“Hair loss to women is detrimental,” Sneed said.
In addition to working as a nurse navigator at the cancer center, Ashley Robinette has survived breast cancer for six years. She claimed that even before receiving her initial diagnosis in October 2017, she had anticipated hair loss.
“It started falling out about 2 weeks after my first treatment. So, pretty quick,” Robinette said. “I had long hair at first, but I cut it three times before I started chemo because I didn’t want the big clumps falling out.”
Chemotherapy patients wear NEA’s Paxman Scalp Cooling System, an icy helmet-like cap, while receiving treatment. It provides a precise estimate of the amount of hair they will keep.
According to Sneed, it “identifies with each individual person” because everything is dependent on the patient’s dosage and type of chemotherapy medicine.
According to Sneed, the device typically reacts well to chemotherapies like taxane and paclitaxel.
According to Robinette, she would have taken any action in 2017 if a hair-saving procedure had been available.
“I had really curly hair, so just to hold onto that and try to look as close to normal as possible,” Robinette said. “Because you go through a lot of changes.”
Sneed stated that you won’t require the freeze cap procedure if hair loss isn’t a side effect of your chemotherapy. Nonetheless, it’s one of the most typical adverse effects for a lot of breast cancer sufferers.
For additional information on the treatment, go to coldcaptherapy.com if you’re interested.