For sufferers of breast cancer who suffer again at the hands of chemotherapy, this could be one major discovery.
The suffering that comes with people who must endure chemotherapy due to a breast cancer diagnosis can often be acute, and one of the most difficult aspects of the regimen is losing all of your hair. However, a new clinical trial for a cooling cap system that was approved only last year proved so stunningly successful at preventing hair loss that it was halted midway in order to release the results immediately.
The results, presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, showed that this new cooling cap saved the hair of 51 percent of the 95 patients who used it, and the 47 breast cancer patients who were in the control group and didn’t use it lost their hair in every single case.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration signed off on the new cooling cap system back in December 2015. If the cooling cap system can continue to show these results, it could take away a major part of suffering for a lot of breast cancer patients.
The reason why people lose their hair after chemotherapy is that chemotherapy targets rapidly dividing cells, which are a hallmark of cancer. But hair cells also rapidly divide and they get caught in the crossfire. The cooling cap system works by reducing the amount of chemotherapy agent that reaches the hair follicles.
“We are pleased to see a product for breast cancer patients that can minimize chemotherapy-induced hair loss and contribute to the quality of life of these individuals,” said William Maisel, M.D., M.P.H., acting director of the Office of Device Evaluation in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “Managing the side effects of chemotherapy is a critical component to overall health and recovery.”
Good fortune for the men commenting who got a little chemo doses and ONLY complication or inconvenience was being a baldheaded MAN for a few months. I had chemo in 2007 for breast cancer and again in 2016 for recurrence in a number of vital organs. Regrew hair both times and that is way easier than some other side-effects. Found that a woman wearing a simple scarf instead of itchy wig is whispered about, loudly, by strangers for being a Muslim when she’s actually Baptist. If you get BIG dose or multiple types of chemo, all fast-growing cells are affected including nerves and fingernails and toenails. It was especially painful when toenails popped off and it took months to be able to wear any shoe that touched the tops of my toes without significant pain and sensitivity. Then they grow back so thick you can’t fit in shoes that fit the rest of your foot. Even worse is the nerve damage that doesn’t go away. Numbness of the hands and feet and arms and legs has its own pain, but the electrical shocks affecting sleep and daytime activities are tough–so far, for me, for 10 years, Still grateful for every painful day as well as the painfree days. Wish I’d thought to ice down my hands and feet, as well as my head.
I remember reading somewhere that 50% of women beauty is from hair; It could be 1% or 99% or any numbers in between. But it is very important to make them look good, for themselves and other family/ friends, and not so kind family/ friends.
I believe it is a good new for all women that has breast cancer and loosing their hair.
Every chemo doesn’t cause hair lost.
My wife lost her hair, which changes her appearance, and made her isolated and depress. I spent over $1000 including several cheep wigs and over $600 for one natural looking wig, to make her look normal to attend some family wedding/parties; this was in addition to several hats, and Muslim looking hijabs.
She did not like closest family/friends to know about her cancer, and show up at the door… and want to be ready and look good.
Men doesn’t care much, but its important to all women; especially for some women like my wife as they rather die ( just saying- not really;) than look bad/balled.
It is huge breakthrough for women like my wife, but not for everyone. This is the first time I’ve heard about this; If we know about this 6 years ago, we would defiantly ask for it, even with extra pay.
The reason for calling this a huge breakthrough (probably) is: for sensitive women, and for marketing purposes. I hope the REAL good news and real breakthrough of finding the cure and prevention comes soon, before more lost of life, pain, expenses, hardship….affect more people. I am hopeful of VP Biden efforts.
I wish:
– God’s merci and blessing and forgiveness for people who lost their life battling with Cancer.
– Strength, patience, relief, comfort for patience (and their family and friends) that have any kind of disease, especially incurables and Cancer.
– Breakthrough of cure and prevention.
– PEACE in the world, and COEXIST.