For millions of women out there battling cancer and having to undergo chemotherapy treatment, one of the most painful parts of it all is losing your hair.
One of the things that make us women feel beautiful are the strands that grow from our scalps. Yes, there are options for wigs* and survivors have grown their hair back after the cancer has gone into remission, but what if I told you there could be a chance that you could retain your tresses?!
Enter the DigniCap.
Currently a device has been developed in Sweden that serves the purpose of preventing hair loss during chemotherapy for cancer patients.
To use the cap, before starting a round of chemo, the patient is to put it over wet hair and a coolant will chill the scalp. This is effective because it will slow down cell division in the hair follicles and constrict the blood vessels which will limit the amount of chemo that reaches the area.
Freelance writer Heather Millar shared that the process isn’t exactly comfortable. “It’s like sticking your head in Lake Tahoe until it goes numb.” But she barely lost any of her fine blonde hair so maybe a little brain freeze may be worth it. Pretty hurts right?
According to Allure, the cap is in the final stages of FDA testing and 70 percent of subjects kept at least half the hair on their heads in a clinical trial.
“It’s a big deal,” says Hope S. Rugo, a professor of medicine at UCSF Medical School and the lead investigator on a study of the DigniCap’s success. “I’ve had women who are trying to decide whether to do chemo or not because it’s going to adversely affect them at work when they lose their hair.”
Science is pretty amazing huh?!
If all goes well with FDA approval maybe we’ll get the DigniCap in the U.S. and help save the hair of many beautiful women fighting cancer.
What if the cancer cells went to the brain would this cap prevent chemo from reaching those cells…chemo is suppose to kill all cancer cells…I lost my hair 10days after my first chemo I it was heartbreaking but it’s only hair and it will grow back…
I was thinking that too. It’s a brilliant idea to be sure, but if I had to choose between making sure all the invading cells were dead and keeping some hair, I’d choose bald in a second.