Photo courtesy Paxman Scalp Cooling
Chemotherapy can help a woman win the battle against breast cancer, but she may well lose her hair in the process.
The drugs used for the treatments are potent and don’t discriminate: They are meant to take out cancer cells, but they also kill other fast-dividing cells in the body, which includes hair follicles, according to the nonprofit Breastcancer.org. Hair loss can be partial or total.
A treatment that can diminish or prevent hair loss from occurring in some patients is available in metro Richmond facilities through Bon Secours. It’s called the Paxman Scalp Cooling System, and it works by keeping the scalp cold during chemotherapy sessions.
A close-fitting cap, worn as patients undergo treatment, is attached to a machine next to the infusion couch. It lowers the scalp temperature to around freezing, which reduces blood flow to the hair follicles, lessening the amount of chemicals reaching the cells, according to William J. Irvin Jr., oncology medical director for Bon Secours and clinical research director for the Bon Secours Cancer Institute.
The cap cools enough to cause vasoconstriction, says Irvin, but not enough to lead to frostbite. It may cause a headache, or be uncomfortable at first, like a brain freeze when you consume ice cream. An analgesic such as Tylenol may allay symptoms.
The cap is put on half an hour before the chemotherapy infusion, worn throughout the session, and it stays on for another 90 minutes or so afterward. A patient need not spend the full session attached to the machine, though; the cap retains the cold long enough to allow for bathroom breaks and the like.
It's not recommended for all patients. Limiting factors may include the treatment regimen and the condition of one's hair.
The device is from a European company and gained U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for treating women with breast cancer in April 2017. It was approved the following year for use in patients with solid-tumor cancers of the ovary, colon and rectum, bowel, or prostate. Paxman earlier in the year reported that it had more than 500 people use the device in the United States, and that the service was available in 259 locales across 37 states.
The Paxman devices were installed in August and are available at three Bon Secours infusion centers. Irvin in early October said that three local patients have used the device so far and that each retained her hair. “They love it,” he says.
The cooling system currently is not covered by Medicare, and few insurance plans cover the costs associated with the device. Bon Secours does not charge for it, but patients pay for their caps and also pay for the use of the machines.
Cap kits cost about $500. There is a fee of $200 for each of the first four sessions, and the price drops for any additional sessions. Irvin says an average chemotherapy treatment regimen is four rounds.
There are grants available to help allay the costs.
Keeping a full head of hair seems a simple thing when you’re in a potentially life-threatening battle with a disease that you have no control over, but the cooling device is a tool of empowerment, says Irvin. “The gist is, it gives people control,” he says.
