[Magdalen] Cold caps in chemotherapy

[Sally Davies]

Well, I put the article together and will see if my sister likes it.

It seems that doctors have often had a negative mindset because earlier
attempts to achieve scalp cooling weren't very successful (and it's not an
easy thing to do). But the systems have improved a great deal, whether
those that pump coolant into the caps (located in treatment centres) or the
DIY version which requires dry ice.

People also still raise issues about possible metastasis, though it seems
that the likelihood of metastasis to the scalp is very low, compared to the
benefits of being able to keep hair. Especially if the cancer being treated
is at an early stage...

Those who are migraine sufferers, are on more extended chemo, are on
particular chemo drugs that stick around longer, who have exceptionally
thick hair (ironically) should not try the Cold Caps. Nor should anyone
with a blood borne cancer because that would be a threat to treatment
success.

Our patient really had to work it all out herself, including how to prevent
getting frostbite on her ears (she cut up panty liners and used them to
protect exposed skin). And the oncology doctors here in Port Elizabeth were
very negative and dismissive, though the staff at her local clinic in the
small town of East London helped her and were thrilled with her success.

Interesting stuff!

And Jay, I agree - Oncology is not my cuppa either, though I have Hospice
training and experience and have always done bereavement counselling...

At the acute hospital, I have managed to work out a situation where I don't
see their patients because nine out of ten times it's a psychological
disaster!! They don't want the patients seen by someone who wants to talk
about what's really going on, patients are desperately vulnerable as are
the families, and I don't like the clinical risk that comes with patients
who have such poor physician support. <rant mode off>

Sally D



On Wednesday, August 19, 2015, Jay Weigel <jay.weigel at gmail.com> wrote:

> I've heard both pro and con about this. I didn't do oncology at all when I
> was an active nurse (just not my cuppa, for various reasons which I won't
> go into) but I get the feeling that such things are kind of scoffed at
> here. I don't know whether it's because the FDA thinks it knows more than
> doctors and agencies in Europe and elsewhere, or what.
>
> On Wed, Aug 19, 2015 at 8:56 AM, Roger Stokes <
> roger.stokes65 at btinternet.com <javascript:;>
> > wrote:
>
> > One of my nieces was, for a time, a representative for a firm supplying
> > the refrigerators for this treatment.  From what I gather it was not a
> good
> > firm to work for as she was the one employee who was not part of the
> family
> > and her "beat" was the whole of the country, lugging the kit around in
> her
> > car.
> >
> > She now deals with and demonstrates edoscopy equipment in a much smaller
> > area and with smaller bits of kit.
> >
> > Roger
> >
> >
> > On 19/08/2015 12:58, Sally Davies wrote:
> >
> >> Dear Pub friends
> >>
> >> I have an interesting assignment from my sister, to write a piece on her
> >> website about cold cap treatment which is a strategy for preventing hair
> >> loss during chemotherapy.
> >>
> >> I just spoke to a former patient who did that and managed to save her
> hair
> >> - which was long and still is!
> >>
> >> It involved quite a rigmarole, they had to get Dry Ice in (from
> elsewhere)
> >> for the caps, change caps every twenty minutes on "chemo day" and ensure
> >> that any skin not already protected by hair (such as the ears) was
> covered
> >> to prevent frostbite!
> >>
> >> But after six sessions of chemo - lovely natural hair. This patient had
> >> been through chemo baldness before, as a teenager, and had been
> >> traumatised
> >> by it so she was highly motivated to manage the cold caps
> >>
> >> Not for everyone I'm sure and perhaps wouldn't even work for everyone,
> but
> >> she says that overseas (US/UK) chemo treatment facilities offer the caps
> >> routinely and even have specialised apparatus for fast freezing them.
> >>
> >> Has anyone in the Pub come across these? And if so, did they work or was
> >> the head-freezing just useful as a distraction during an awful time in a
> >> person's life?
> >>
> >> Sally D
> >>
> >>
> >
>