Scalp Cooling Treatment to Prevent Hair Loss in Chemotherapy Patients

Baptist Health Louisville: Scalp Cooling Treatment to Prevent Hair Loss in Chemotherapy Patients

Baptist Health uses advanced scalp cooling treatments to prevent chemotherapy induced hair loss. Learn more about scalp cooling devices for cancer patients, including those with breast cancer.

Scalp Cooling Treatment to Prevent Hair Loss in Chemotherapy Patients HealthTalks Transcript

Christine Michals, Louisville, Kentucky:
I was diagnosed July 2018 with invasive lobular carcinoma in my right breast. My number 1 concern was losing my hair. Was I going to lose my hair? I mean, that’s a lot of what women worry about. That’s the main thing, that’s our identity.

Leela Bhupalam, MD, Oncology/Hematology:
Systems developed where they found that keeping the scalp cool will make the hair follicle metabolize at a lower rate, the drug delivery to the scalp is less, so when there is decreased drug delivery to the scalp, then the hair follicles don’t get damaged and there is less loss of hair.

The Paxman cooling system does work in keeping the scalp cool. The system actually passes a coolant through the scalp. The coolant will keep the blood vessels at a basal constricted state where the delivery is low, so it’s kind of a logical thinking that you’ll not lose as much hair if you kept the scalp cool.

It is started 30 minutes before chemotherapy, goes along with the chemotherapy, and then ends about 90 minutes after the chemotherapy.

Michals:
With the emotional stress that you’re already going through, with your diagnosis and all the treatments and testing, it’s one thing that cancer doesn’t get to have. It’s one thing that we get to control.