Designed for women diagnosed with breast cancer, a cold cap has surfaced as an aid in the reduction of hair loss for chemo patients. “Chemotherapy may destroy your cancer, but it doesn’t have to destroy your hair,” expresses the new line of cooling caps.
Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy have faced the almost inevitable possibility of losing their hair during their stint of radiation and chemo sessions.
Wearing a scalp cooling cap during chemotherapy has long been known as an effective method to help to prevent hair loss.
However, patients in the U.S. did not have access to an FDA-approved scalp cooling treatment, until recently.
Known as the DigniCap, the Sweden-based Dignitana Cooling System company has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to help prevent hair loss in women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer with their intelligent scalp cooling headwear.
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How does it work?
A computer-controlled system circulates cooled liquid to the cap during chemotherapy.
This is designed to constrict blood vessels in the scalp, limiting the number of chemotherapy drugs that reach the hair follicles, the agency said in a news release.
In clinical testing, more than two-thirds of women who wore the cap reported losing less than half of their hair.