Meet Hannah, a cancer patient who discovered scalp cooling after her friend had undergone cancer treatment the year prior. Through her friend, Hannah was signposted to two members of the Paxman USA team, Amber Antley and Rachel Kayla. Hannah recalls how Amber guided her through and took care of everything. Hannah says that Amber went “above and beyond for me”, letting her borrow a cap because hers hadn’t arrived in time for her first treatment. 

Hannah goes on to say that her scalp cooling experience was just as she had expected. She had joined groups and read a lot about scalp cooling prior to starting the process and deliberately sought out women with her drug protocol. 

Often, when patients are going through chemotherapy, many can feel the need to wear a head covering to maintain their identity. During her treatment journey, Hannah “had a wig and lots of hats.”  Hannah explains, “I lost the majority of hair from the crown of my head. I ended up shaving my head because I felt like I appeared older than I was”. While Hannah did elect to shave her head due to shedding, she says that continued use of the cold cap throughout treatment meant her hair was already growing back prior to treatment finishing. To underscore the importance of cold capping, Hannah draws a comparison between herself and a close friend who chose not to scalp cool. Hannah says that her hair was already getting trimmed and cut by the time her friend’s’ grew back in. 

Asked whether she any scalp cooling haircare tips for other cap users, Hannah recommends to “cut it shorter prior to treatment” as this reduces the chance of tangling. She also suggests wearing a bonnet to bed, as this drastically reduces the chance of “waking up in your hair”. 

When we asked Hannah how she feels about her scalp cooling experience, Hannah says, “I am a vibrant hair colour girlie. It is the one thing I like to splurge on for myself… I was more upset about losing my hair than anything else throughout my treatment journey”. For Hannah, losing her hair felt like she was losing an element of her identity. However, she says that her capping experience was worth it as it made her “feel in control” and protected her hair follicles. Hannah’s hair came back thicker and fuller than it had ever been and she also managed to retain her hair texture. 

Asked if she would recommend scalp cooling to others, Hannah responded, “Absolutely, it should be available to anyone during treatment.” In Hannah’s opinion, health insurance should not be a barrier to accessing the cold cap technology.